


The Young and the Breathless

by Pinkhairandroses



Category: Southern Vampire Mysteries - Charlaine Harris, True Blood (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canonical Child Abuse, F/M, Past Child Abuse, Recreational Drug Use, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:08:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 52,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29000451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinkhairandroses/pseuds/Pinkhairandroses
Summary: Growing up is hard. Growing up as a telepath? The worst. But when a handsome new boy whose thoughts she can't understand moves to town, maybe Sookie could eventually have an almost normal life after all. Then again, maybe not. Kinda A/U. Not A/H. Pre-Rev. Eventual vampires and ESN. ;)
Relationships: Eric Northman/Sookie Stackhouse
Comments: 11
Kudos: 33





	1. July, 1986

Sookie Stackhouse sat in the dirt below the bleachers at the Bon Temps Community Football Field, trying to keep away from the hot Louisiana sun and the cacophony of voices. She was doing OK with the former, but not so much with the latter. Oh well. At least nobody was thinking about HER. Out of sight, out of mind, right? She knew that she would likely catch hell from Mama for something in an hour or two when Mama bothered to notice that Sookie was gone, but the relative peace right now was worth it. Daddy had come along with them, so Mama’s attention would be occupied for a lot longer. Plus she’d be less likely to hit her. Sookie would take what peace she could get.

Her brother Jason was trying out for the Renard Parish Foxes Youth Football team. He would be turning 12 before the season was out, and was sure he’d be a shoo-in for starting QB in his first year on the AAA team. Sookie hoped so; Jason stuck up for her in front of other kids sometimes, but he could be mean as a snake when he was on his own, especially when his pride was wounded.

Sookie didn't have any friends to play with; the other kids were always mean to her, so she had to entertain herself. Sometimes, on days like today when she could be outside with lots of space and no real distractions, she liked to play games with her telepathy. Sometimes she heard things she didn't want to hear, and that always made her sad or mad or scared or grossed out. But she found that the more she played, the less her head hurt and the more she could block everyone out. It was still really hard, especially in crowded places with people thinking hard, like at school. And she couldn't block out touching thoughts at all. Sometimes, if she was feeling yucky or if she was tired or upset, it was completely useless to try to control her disability. But on days like today, when the brains were spread out and she had nothing else to think about, she played her little games and strengthened her telepathy.

Sookie reached out her mind to find her brother, touching lightly on each brain in turn down the sideline until she found him. He was reciting his pregame mantra. Sookie found it both comforting and annoying, like a beloved song that you just can’t get out of your head. But comforting and annoying was kind of Jason Stackhouse in a nutshell. “I am Jason Stackhouse. I am a football god. I am gonna marry Madonna. I am Jason Stackhouse. I am a football god.…”

Sookie giggled. Last football season, it was Alyssa Milano. She guessed Jason was growing up a little after all. She cocked her head. Something about one of the brains she’d brushed had sounded… different. She backtracked up the sideline until she found it. Four brains up from Jason. Sookie crawled on hands and knees until she could peer around the struts. He was much taller than Jason, taller than everyone over there except the coaches. His hair was blond like hers, and almost as long. It hung in his eyes and he kept sweeping it to the side. He looked every bit as handsome as the boys on the covers of 16 and Tiger Beat. Sookie sometimes looked at the teen magazines while Gran was looking at the new Women’s Day or Family Circle at the grocery store. These tryouts were for AAA only, so she knew the boy had to be 11, 12, or 13. She had never seen him before, and he thought in a completely different language! She climbed out from under the bleachers and stood up to get a better look.

Sookie had never heard anyone thinking in anything but regular old English or Cajun French before. She was so curious! Where was he from? What language did he speak? Why was he in Bon Temps? He must be smart and rich and classy. He was the most handsome boy she had ever seen, and she couldn’t understand one thing that he thought! She could have a real normal conversation with him and not have to worry about overhearing something mean or dirty or secret, or not knowing whether or not he had said something out loud, or just in his head. She laughed with delight.

There were maybe three dozen parents and hardcore football fans sitting in twos and threes and fours on the bleachers. One of the fathers looked down at the sound. He nudged the guy next to him. “Look at Crazy Sookie, laughing at nothing again. That kid is nuttier than a fruitcake. ” Michelle Stackhouse, who was sitting a couple of rows behind them, seethed. Sookie had called attention to herself again, and embarrassed her mother. Shamed her. And of course Corbett paid no attention at all.

Then Michelle noticed that Sookie’s white dress was covered with dust and dirt from under the stands. Rage boiled up from the writhing ball of shame in the pit of her stomach. She stormed down the steps and grabbed Sookie around the upper arm and yanked her behind the bleachers where no one could see. Sookie's mind was blasted with image after image of other times she had embarrassed or scared or angered her mother, along with words. Mean words that were loud. And some of them she wasn’t allowed to say or Mama would wash her mouth out with soap. She had no idea what she had done wrong; she wasn’t hiding anymore when Mama grabbed her. She was just standing next to the bleachers not 10 feet away from where her Mama sat, in plain sight. But Mama was mad. So mad. Sookie was glad when her mother let her go and slapped her face. The slap hurt, but it wasn’t as bad as the loud thoughts. The touching thoughts. She hated being touched, more than anything.

Especially bad touches.

But she wouldn’t talk about bad touches again. Mama told her not to, and she tried so hard not to cross Mama. But Mama was always cross with her, anyhow.

“You behave!” Michelle hissed.

She still didn’t know what she did wrong. The sassy voice in Sookie’s head said, “Well, that clears it right up.” Sookie could only be sassy inside because her Mama would skin her alive if she talked like Sassy Sookie out loud.

Sookie wiped the single tear from the eye on the side Michelle had slapped. She took a deep, shaky breath and said, “I’m sorry, Mama.” She tried so hard to be a good girl, but she guessed she was just bad.

Sookie followed obediently behind her mother and sat down on the bleachers next to her. She had a very good view of the handsome boy from here. She looked around the stands, trying to see if she could guess which Mama or Daddy was his. Maybe that tall man in the fancy suit with the light brown hair? She tried to drown out all of the other thoughts and just hear his. She listened in and smiled. He was speaking a different language, too!

Michelle took a drink of her Pepsi. It was spiked with a little Jack, just to get her through the day. She grabbed a smoke from her purse and looked around for Corbett. He was over by the fence talking to Missy Green, and that little cum dumpster was biting her lip and batting her eyelashes at him like a common whore. Michelle stared daggers at her husband, who was flirting right back.

“Mama, what’s a gum dumpster?” Sookie heard Michelle’s thoughts go nuclear again, and she knew she was in really REALLY big trouble now. Michelle almost glowed with rage, and Sookie seemed to shrink in on herself. Michelle imagined every person around her, all of her friends and neighbours, whispering about what a crazy freak Sookie Stackhouse was, and how shameful it would be to have a child like that. In actuality, the ones who were paying attention to them at all were thinking what a nasty piece of poor white trash Michelle Stackhouse was, and that Sookie was almost certainly crazy, but it was a shame how she was treated by her mother. Of course, nobody thought of butting in.

Michelle grabbed Sookie’s shoulder hard, and Sookie shrunk even more under the weight of the touching thoughts. “You just wait til we get home,” Michelle whispered angrily in her ear. Sookie swallowed around the lump in her throat. She wanted to run and hide, but she had to stay right next to her Mama, or else she was gonna get the beating of her life later on.

She watched the handsome boy, found his brain, and let her mind fall into his beautiful, meaningless thoughts. She wondered if this was what love felt like. She had a big book of Fairy Tales that her Daddy had given her, and she loved all of the stories about princes rescuing princesses and then falling in love. She imagined that the handsome boy was a prince from a faraway kingdom, come to rescue her from her evil step-mother. Except Mama was her real mother. But she guessed that that didn’t matter

Sassy Sookie thought that maybe she could just rescue herself. And, again Sookie wished she was strong enough to be Sassy Sookie out loud.

It was the handsome boy's turn to show the coach how well he could throw. She just hopped over into the coach's thoughts so she could find out more about the boy.

Eric Northman  
11 years old  
From Sweden!

Wow. Sookie took a pencil out of her pocket and scratched SS + EN on the seat of the bleachers beside her. She drew a heart around it. She made sure Mama didn't see. It was her secret, and nobody ever needed to know. Nobody could read her mind.

Jason was talking to the handsome boy now. To Eric. Sookie listened in, hoping that Jason would mention her, and hoping just as hard that he wouldn't.

Jason and Eric did a complicated handshake and laughed. Jason made friends easily everywhere he went. In fact, everything came easily to Jason, except school work and behaving himself. Jason looked up at the bleachers where she was sitting. She heard him point out Mama, Daddy, and his "lame little sister, Sookie." The handsome boy’s eyes met hers, and he smiled.

Sookie gasped. She knew she was just a little girl, just a baby third grader who had only turned 8 last week, and he was a big boy who would be going to the middle school with Jason next month. But even so, he had smiled at her. A friendly, nice smile, with no pity or malice.

A beautiful smile.

Sookie spent the rest of the tryouts daydreaming about Eric, her secret prince, rescuing her and taking her far, far away to a place where everyone thought in a language that Sookie didn't understand, and nobody ever made fun of her or called her names or hurt her again.


	2. September, 1986

When Jason Stackhouse saw Eric Northman at football tryouts, his first reaction was to get jealous. The new boy was taller, almost certainly richer, and was maybe almost as good looking and naturally talented as Jason was himself. Jason wasn't the smartest boy in Bon Temps, not by a long shot, but he had a natural charisma and a real talent for making people like him. He could either go toe to toe with the new guy for the next 7 years, or he could befriend him, and together they would be the most popular kids in Bon Temps. 

Doubling down on charm, charisma, athletic ability, and good looks seemed like the best bet. Eric was just going to have to become his best friend. And so, Jason made it happen. 

Eric was also naturally athletic, and could throw and catch well, but Jason had been throwing spirals since he could hold a ball. And the football that Eric was used to was a soccer ball. Jason easily got first string QB, even though he was the smallest kid who tried out. He was also the only one to throw forty plus yards, straight into the coach’s waiting hands. Eric was going to be his wide receiver, as well as the second string quarterback.

Jason and Eric were soon inseparable at practice. Hoyt Fortenberry was sad to lose his place as Jason's best friend, especially when school was starting and he was going to be in 6A with the A-Ms and Eric and Jason would be together in 6B with the N-Zs. But he was now the loyal sidekick to two handsome, popular kids, so really it wasn’t the end of the world.

The night before the first day of school, Jason and Eric made plans to come home to Jason's on the school bus the next afternoon. Eric would stay for supper, and they would go together to practice at 6:30.

They both had a great first day of middle school. They were obviously the kings of sixth grade, and Jason had even seen older girls checking him out. Teenage girls. He wasn't tall, but he wasn't scrawny either, and he even had some hair growing here and there. And, Jason admitted to himself, it was really really awesome not having to deal with Sookie at all. In fact, unless he flunked, Jason wouldn't have Sookie in the same school with him again until Senior year!

When the last bell rang, Jason and Eric ran out and got on the bus. The elementary school got out fifteen minutes earlier than the middle school, and the little kids on this route were already on board. Jason said to the driver, "Hey, Terry. My friend Eric's comin' home with me."

"That's fine, Jason. But you might want to check on your sister. I think she had a bad day."

Jason's shoulders slumped, and he made his way down the aisle. Sookie was sitting in the middle of the bus. She wasn’t making any noise, but she had her arms wrapped around her knees, her head tucked down so her face was hidden, and she was rocking forward and back. She sat alone, and all of the seats around her were empty. 

Jason was mad. Sookie always ruined everything. She always made a scene, and then Jason would have to try and calm her down instead of hanging out with his friends and doing what he wanted. He was completely over it. He walked straight past her to the back of the bus and kicked a grade 4 baby out of the very back seat. 

Eric felt bad for the little girl. He had seen her several times at practice, and she always seemed so sad. She was so pretty and sweet, but everyone treated her so poorly. He had asked Jason why, but he'd just said that she was weird and annoying. She obviously looked up to her brother a lot, because she followed them around, but from a distance. He knew she annoyed Jason, but Eric had always wanted a brother or sister. He decided to help if Jason wouldn't. He put his hand on her arm. She gasped and looked up at him. 

Sookie's eyes, wide and blue, looked almost comically huge, magnified by the tears standing in them. She blinked back the tears and smiled at him. "Hi, Eric." It was the first time she'd spoken to him. She reached up and swept the hair out of his eyes.

Eric looked back at Jason, and nodded. Jason nodded solemnly back. Part of him was kind of pissed. But not only was Sookie leaving him alone, she'd touched someone. On purpose. And she wasn't even screaming about it. Plus, Jason had the middle school girls in the back all to himself. He invited Dawn Green to sit next to him. Maybe he could get her to french kiss him on the way home. 

All of the other kids muttered to each other about the new boy sitting with Crazy Sookie on purpose, but none of them dared say anything about it too loud. There was something about the new kid that made the other kids feel deferential to him, and in a way that they didn't resent it. He was tall, handsome, smart, rich, and worldly, but friendly and approachable enough to be idolized as one of them, rather than envied as an outsider. Even on the first day of school. And they even forgave him the horror of holding Crazy Sookie's hand.

The bus stopped right at their driveway, thanks to Sookie's IEP for her diagnosis-du-jour (currently autism with hyperlexia). Sookie, Jason, and Eric got out. Jason took off at a run down the long driveway toward the house. He yelled back at Eric, "Come on! Mama's got cookies made." Eric looked down at Sookie. "You OK?"

Sookie smiled and nodded. Eric smiled back and ran after Jason. 

Sookie took her time going back to the house. She reached her mind out to Mama's, but Mama was talking to Jason, so she seemed happy. Sookie knew better than to trust that. She decided to play it safe. She went inside, greeted her mother politely in the kitchen, put her backpack away, and then went straight out the back door into the yard. She climbed the big sycamore tree and finally relaxed. 

The first day back at school was always the worst day of the year. The summer was always so nice and quiet and peaceful, only ever having to deal with a crowd on Sundays. But she paid for the peace in September, when her rudimentary shields had atrophied with disuse. 

And, on top of the thoughts, she had to deal with the kids, who were either mean to her, or ignored her completely. 

But Eric had sat with her on the bus, and held her hand. In front of everyone! He had smiled, and asked her how her first day of school was, and told her about his day. His thoughts were almost completely in words, and she still didn't understand any of them, so she could just let it pass by almost unnoticed. 

She imagined getting on the bus tomorrow, and everyone fighting over who got to sit next to her. She imagined Eric getting on (even though he normally didn't even ride the bus) and insisting on sitting next to her instead. She imagined him holding her hand and kissing her in front of everybody. 

Sookie stayed in the tree on her favourite branch about eight feet up, feet dangling, back against the wide trunk, safe and secure and quiet and away from sight, all afternoon. She was alone, but happy, her imagination keeping her company like always. She rubbed the place on the branch where she'd carved her initials with his. She reached out to find his brain and heard the familiar sound of the unfamiliar words. 

She must have dozed off, because Mama was yelling, and was really mad. She had yelled a few times before Sookie had woken up. She swung her leg over the branch and started to scramble down when Mama reached up and grabbed her foot and yanked. Sookie fell sideways off the branch and landed hard on the ground, her arm pinned underneath her. Pain shot through her elbow and she cried out. Mama grabbed her arm hard and yanked her up onto her feet. She shook her hard, twice. The pain was overwhelming, and there was white hot rage coming from her mother's grip. Sookie turned white, then a sickly greyish green. She swayed. Then Mama grabbed her up in a hug, crying and rocking and apologizing, saying it was an accident and she didn't mean it, her thoughts a jumbled swirl of shame and fear and self-loathing and regret and love and worry. Sookie stood stock still, her eyes locked with Eric's over her Mama's shoulder while she was rocked and squeezed.

Jason came outside and saw Mama crying and hugging Sookie, who never allowed herself to be hugged. He saw that Sookie's arm was bent all wrong, and she looked like she was going to puke. He sighed. "I'll go call Daddy at work. Eric, you're gonna have to go on to practice without me. We'll drop you off at your place." He went back inside.

Eric had never seen anything like this in his life. Had not really imagined that this kind of thing happened outside an after school special. His parents were progressive European intellectuals who didn't believe in corporal punishment. His friends back in Sweden all had parents much like his. He had never been so uncomfortable in his life. He felt terrible for Sookie, who was so sweet and gentle and didn't deserve to be treated so poorly. He felt an impotent rage at her mother. He felt embarrassment for Jason. He decided that he was going to take Sookie under his wing a little. He felt protective of her, and would be like another big brother for her. 

Jason came back out and convinced his mother to let go of Sookie and go inside and pack a bag for the hospital. He gently picked Sookie up and told her how sorry he was that he had to touch her, and that she was going to be ok, and that Daddy would be home soon. He sat on the porch steps and rocked her and whispered to her until Corbett tore up the driveway. The clouds of dust he'd kicked up hung in the air. Corbett jumped out and ran over to his children. He stroked Sookie's hair, and clasped Jason's shoulder and squeezed, one man to another, as he passed him on the steps. He ran into the house, and the door slammed behind him. Eric heard a loud slap and they were both yelling. A minute later, Jason's parents came out. 

Corbett went to pick Sookie up. Jason shook his head. "I got her. You drive. I'll hold her." He glared at his mother.

Eric got in the back with Jason and his sister. Sookie hadn't made a sound since the first cry. Eric couldn't wait to get home, to his beautiful loving Mor, and even his overbearing and demanding Far. 

Corbett had driven Eric home from practice before, so he knew where Eric lived. They dropped him off, and tore away almost before the door was closed behind him. He went inside and his mother was standing in the kitchen making dinner. "Hi Baby. How come you're home so early? How was your first day? What's the matter?"

He walked over to his mother, wrapped his arms around her, and started to cry.


	3. October, 1986

Sookie laid on the chaise lounge smiling up at the sun with her eyes closed. It was a beautiful warm day, and Sookie was almost completely happy. It was Friday afternoon, she had three days off school because Monday was a holiday, and she was spending the whole weekend at Gran's house. By herself. The only bad part was that her elbow ached and her arm itched terribly under the cast. And she missed Eric.

Things had been really good at home for the first week or so after the "accident". Well, after she had gotten home from the hospital two days after the surgery to put the pins in her elbow, anyhow. Hospitals were no fun for telepaths, and Sookie had to be sedated for the whole stay, pretty much. She remembered very little of it. For days after they got home, Mama never raised her voice one time, and everyone doted on Sookie. She even had a few signatures on her cast - Lafayette Reynold, Tara Thornton, Hoyt Fortenberry, and even Jason. And Eric. Sookie had nearly rubbed the marker off in that spot, tracing his name with her finger over and over.

But then Eric said he wasn't allowed to visit anymore, and Jason got mad. Then Bud Dearborn showed up and asked how Sookie had gotten hurt, and said that someone had called and said that Mama had pulled her out of a tree and hurt her on purpose. Sookie told Bud that she had just fallen out all on her own. Bud was good friends with her Daddy, and just let it go. But things had been pretty bad ever since then, and Sookie had never been more glad to have three whole days away from everyone, so she could just get spoiled by Gran and all of the peace and quiet. 

Jason had gone to a football camp for the weekend. He could spend lots of time with Eric, and Mama couldn't get mad. Mama was sure that Eric's parents had called the sheriff, and Jason wasn't allowed to be his friend anymore. Of course, Jason and Eric were still best buddies at school, and Mama couldn't get mad about them talking at football. But Jason wasn't allowed to play with Eric after school or on the weekends any more at either house, or even at the park. Jason blamed Sookie, even though he knew deep down inside that it wasn't fair. Sookie understood; she blamed herself, too, and she didn't get to talk to Eric at school or practice. She never got to see him at all. She hadn't seen him once since he had come to the hospital to see her, except from a distance. It was one part of the hospital stay that she did remember well. She had been so sleepy and sore, but he had come into her room with his Mama, and he signed her cast, and told her that he hoped she'd feel better soon and that he was sorry. His Mama seemed real nice, but Sookie's Mama hadn't liked her at all. And Mama'd liked it even less when she saw the way Eric's mama had looked at Sookie's Daddy. But most ladies thought about her daddy with no clothes on, so Sookie was used to it. 

Gran was inside watching her stories. After, they were gonna bake cookies and have little finger sandwiches and sweet tea for supper, and then they were gonna pop popcorn and watch an old movie on TV.

A huge boom of thunder made Sookie jump. Then it started pouring rain. It was coming down in sheets. Sookie got up and ran as fast as she could for the front porch. She wasn't supposed to get her cast wet (and she was scared that the rest of the marker would wash away where Eric signed his name and "bli bättre snart", which he said meant get better soon. Jason had just laughed because it rhymed with fart. But Jason was stupid).

Lightning flashed, and immediately another huge crash of thunder shook the windows behind her.

Gran came to the front door and looked out to make sure Sookie was okay. Sookie grinned back at her. "Look, Gran! God is gonna wash all of our blues away!" It was something Gran had told her a long time ago when she was scared of thunderstorms, and it never failed to make her feel better. Especially when she was at Gran's. Gran smiled back at her, but she looked sad. Sometimes Gran's thoughts were shimmery and hard to read. They looked kinda like the air over the road when it's really hot outside. Her thoughts looked like that now.

Sookie went inside and got dried off. She sat with Gran and daydreamed while Gran watched the rest of her stories. During the commercials, Adele watched Sookie. The little girl was so smart, despite her problems in school. She was so strong, despite her fragility. She was so kind and forgiving, despite the poor hand she'd been dealt. Adele thought of her contribution to Sookie's plight, and felt the weight of the responsibility on her shoulders. She was the one who had made Sookie's life so hard by drinking that thimble full of blood. But Fintan had told her that it was the right decision to make, and she had trusted him. Now, she thought, she had been an old fool to listen to a man instead of doing what she felt was right. It was a hard and bitter lesson to learn, especially since sweet little Sookie had to pay the price.

Adele noticed that Sookie was tracing Eric's signature on her cast, a faraway look on her face. Adele had a suspicion... Was it a normal case of hero worship for an older boy, or something else?

"Jason’s friend Eric seems like a nice boy.”

Sookie looked at her grandmother and smiled. “Yes. He’s real nice, Gran. He is never mean to me, and even sat on the bus with me on the first day of school in front of everybody. And nobody even made fun of him.”

“Tell me a little about him.”

“Um. He’s from Sweden. He’s eleven and in sixth grade with Jason. He has long blond hair and blue eyes. He plays football, but he likes soccer better. And he sometimes calls soccer football because that’s what they call it in Sweden. What do they call football in Sweden, Gran?”

“I don’t think they have football the way we play it in Sweden, Sweetheart. If they’re watching it or talking about it, I think they call it American Football.”

“Oh. That makes sense.”

Adele smiled warmly down at her granddaughter. “Why do you like him so much, Sookie?”

“Well, he’s really nice, like I said. He isn’t scared of me, or even scared people will be mean to him for being nice to me.” She turned pink and giggled, “He’s really cute.”

“Is that it?”

Sookie looked down and played with the hem of her shirt. She got in trouble at home whenever she mentioned her disability. Gran never got mad at her, and sometimes talked with her about it openly, but it was still hard to get the words to come out. She whispered, “He thinks in Swedish. I can’t understand what he’s thinking about.” There it was.

“Oh, Sookie! No wonder you like him so much! He sounds like a very nice boy.”

Sookie beamed back up at her Gran. Adele watched the rest of her soaps, and then they baked cookies, and had their tea party for supper. They were just finishing up the dishes (Sookie insisted on helping, even though she only had one hand to use), when there was a knock on the front door. Sookie ran into the hall to answer it. Adele came along behind her, drying her hands on the dish towel. Sookie swung open the door, and Bud Dearborn was there, holding his sheriff’s hat in both hands.

“Adele. Sookie. May I come in, please?”

Adele’s hand went up to her throat. She knew something terrible had happened. “Of course, Bud. Come on in. Can I get you a sweet tea or some lemonade? Please, sit down.”

“No, thank you, Ma’am.” Bud wiped his feet on the mat and walked inside. They went into the living room, and Bud sat down in a chair. He looked at Sookie, who was standing in the living room entry while he said, “Adele, now that you mention it, I would like some of your famous lemonade. If you don’t mind.”

“Of course, Bud. Sookie? Can you please go into the kitchen and get the sheriff some lemonade?” 

But Sookie wasn’t listening. That might work to get other 8 year olds out of the room, but Sookie had already read the truth in Bud’s thoughts. Mama and Daddy were dead. Their car was washed over a bridge, and they had both drowned. Sookie’s eyes filled with tears until they spilled over. She didn’t make a sound, but she quietly cried while Adele said, “Whatever it is, Bud, she already knows. Might as well just come right out with it.”

Bud continued to worry the brim of his hat. “Adele, it’s Corbett and Michelle. There was a flash flood that washed out a bridge over Shreveport way while they was trying to cross. I’m so sorry, ladies.”

The rest of the weekend was a blur. Sookie mostly sat and cried silently, missing her daddy, and even her mama. Gran and Sookie went and got Jason at football camp early Saturday morning, and Sookie got to see Eric for a couple of minutes. He looked sad, too. Jason cried a lot at first, but then was just mad. And mostly he was mad at Sookie. Mama and Daddy had gone away for the weekend because they had an appointment in Shreveport to try to not be so mad at each other anymore. Everyone knew they fought all the time because of Sookie more than anything else. They were planning on having a romantic weekend in a hotel after their appointment. Gran had even helped to pay for the hotel room. Mama had packed a cooler full of sandwiches and things to save money on the trip, and Mama had been so excited to get away for a few days. She had mostly been excited to get away from Sookie, but Sookie tried not to think about that.

Linda came on Saturday afternoon from Monroe to help with the arrangements. She and Hadley would stay for the rest of the weekend and until after the service. The double funeral would be on Tuesday at the cemetery, with a viewing Monday night at the funeral home. Hadley and Jason stuck together, but neither of them would even look at Sookie. Gran and Linda were far too busy to notice. Sookie kept to herself, sitting on the front porch swing or lying on the couch, looking at a book but not really reading. Aunt Linda was staying in the room across the hall from Gran’s that was usually Sookie’s when she stayed over. Sookie had to sleep on the pull out couch with Hadley, and she hated it. Hadley was always mean to her, and she kicked in her sleep and dreamed really loud.

Monday evening, Sookie stood next to her Daddy’s coffin. He looked so alive and handsome lying there, just like he had fallen asleep with his best suit on. She walked over to her mother’s coffin. Mama was beautiful, too. Her face was relaxed and she didn’t look angry even a little bit. Sookie whispered, “I’m sorry, Mama. I tried to be good.” She started crying again, but couldn’t stop this time. She started to sob. Adele heard her, went over and picked her up. She carried Sookie to an empty room in the funeral home with a couch and chair, Sookie’s arm sticking out awkwardly between them. She sat the little girl down on her lap, made sure that she was only touching Sookie through their clothes, and rocked her, humming hymns under her breath. This was the first sound Adele had heard Sookie make since Bud had shown up Friday night, and Adele had been very worried about her. But now, she thought that everything would eventually be OK. Adele promised herself that she would move heaven and earth to make life easier for her grandchildren. She made a mental note to call Sid Matt Lancaster as soon as things settled down later in the week to file for legal custody and get all of Corbett and Michelle’s affairs in order. Neither of them had a will, and it was sure to be a huge mess. She didn’t know how she was going to afford it, but she now had two little ones to take care of, and she was determined that they would have as good a life as she could make for them. For the first time, it occurred to her that, orphan or not, this might be the best thing that could have happened to Sookie. It hurt Adele’s heart, but it actually made her feel a little better. It was small comfort after losing her beautiful, kind, loving son, but she would take what comfort she could get. She would be strong for her grandchildren. Her determination would get them all through. 

The next morning, the family walked together over to the graveyard for the funeral. Uncle Bartlett had showed up early and was walking with them. He asked to hold Sookie’s hand, but she had refused, so he was holding Hadley’s. Uncle Bartlett made Hadley very confused; she loved that he made her feel special and paid so much attention to her, and sometimes he even bought her presents. The things he did sometimes even made her feel good. But most of the time he just made her feel sad or ashamed, or he hurt her. Sookie wasn’t confused; she just hated him. She hated being touched. She hated his loud and dirty thoughts about what he wanted to do to her, or what he had done to Hadley, or a few other little girls she didn’t know. One of them looked a lot like the pictures of Aunt Linda when she was little, only in colour. She hated what he did to her, and what he made her do to him. She hated everything about him. She was terrified he was going to do to her what he’d already been doing to Hadley for the past year. She had told her Mama what he did, but Mama didn’t believe her and told her to never say that again and whooped her good. Sookie just stayed away from him as much as she could after that, but Mama kept asking him to babysit just about every night that Daddy had to work so Mama could go out to the bar near Hotshot. Sookie had tried saying she had a tummy ache and went to bed right after supper once, but he just climbed into bed with her after Mama left, so that didn’t work. The best thing to do was stay out of his way for as long as possible, and then try to think about other things while she got it over with. It didn’t really help, but she kept trying anyway.

They had dug one big wide hole instead of two separate ones for her Mama and Daddy. Just about everyone they knew from town was there, and there were lots of women crying. Eric was there with his Mama, and he spoke quietly with Jason and smiled sadly at Sookie before the funeral started. She tried not to notice when he and Hadley kept looking at each other, but she couldn’t help it. She would be sure to kick Hadley back extra hard if she slept over again tonight. Reverend Daniels talked a lot about Mama and Daddy and God, but she could hardly hear anything over everybody’s thoughts. Once again, she tried to shut out every brain except Eric’s. It was very hard, but finally she was able to do it. She stood next to her Gran and quietly cried. And when Eric’s thoughts turned to Hadley’s pretty face and long dark hair and big brown eyes, Sookie sadly let it go and just let the hive mind take her over. She stood numbly beside her family until Gran tugged her sleeve to let her know they were walking back. There were sandwiches and squares and thermoses of coffee, sweet tea and lemonade laid out in the kitchen, and the house, porch, and yard were full of people eating and drinking and talking. Eric and his Mama had come, and they were talking with Jason and Hadley. Sookie, surrounded with people, overwhelmed by the thoughts of everyone she knew, overcome with grief, ran as fast as she could back toward the graveyard. She threw herself down on the sod that covered her parents’ graves and cried.

After she’d cried herself just about out, she heard Eric’s thoughts not too far away. He was standing at the edge of the cemetery with his hands in his pockets, looking at her. She wished he would just go away, but she didn’t think he was going to. He walked over and sat down on one of the old gravestones. She and Jason and Hadley had been playing in the graveyard their whole lives, and she knew that one said William Erasmus Compton, even though she could only see the back. “Hi,” he said quietly.

“Hi.”

He drummed his heels against the back of the gravestone. “I’m sorry about your mother and father.”

She started crying again, and wiped her tears away with her hand. She was so sick of crying. She didn’t know what to say, so she shrugged.

“My mother and your grandmother were talking. They are both OK with Jason and I being friends again.”

Sookie didn’t trust herself to speak, so she just nodded. He didn’t say anything else for a while, but he didn’t leave, either. Eventually, after Sookie stopped crying, she whispered, “I’m glad.”

“Me, too. Does your arm hurt?”

She shook her head.

“Good.”

He still didn’t leave. After a while, he said, “You don’t touch people. Jason said it’s because you can hear people’s thoughts. Don’t be mad that he told. But you let me hold your hand.”

Sookie just looked at him.

“I give pretty good hugs, if you need one.”

He stood up and walked over and held his hand out to her. She let him pull her to her feet. She was a tiny little thing, and he put her face against his chest and held her and let her sob. When Jason came looking for him, he was very thankful to see Eric with Sookie. He knew he was being a shit to his little sister, but he was so mad and upset that he couldn’t seem to help it. And she was just really easy to pick on. He waved at Eric and went back to the house to tell both Gran and Eric’s mother where they were, so they wouldn’t worry.

Eventually, just about everyone had gone home. Adele and Linda got all of the food that people had brought packed away, and Linda and Hadley headed back to Monroe. Linda had a doctor’s appointment the next morning that she couldn’t miss. Jason was outside with Uncle Bartlett, and Adele was lying down with a headache. Sookie had dutifully stripped the bed in the room that Linda had been sleeping in, but was now Sookie’s only bedroom. She put the dirty sheets in the washer, and was awkwardly making the bed with one hand. She had managed to get the fitted sheet on by herself when Uncle Bartlett came in and closed the door. “Here. Let me help you with that, Sweetheart.” Bartlett grabbed the flat sheet and smoothed it out over the bed. He got it quickly tucked and folded, and draped the old quilt overtop. He popped the pillow into the pillowcase and placed it on the bed. “There! Quick as you please! Now, Sookie, why don’t you come over here and give me a big thank you kiss, and I will make you feel like a special girl.”

Sookie shook her head.

“Come on now, Honey. Don’t make Uncle Bartlett have to spank you.”

It was just too much. His thoughts were so awful and she just couldn’t stand having to do this today. Not today. Anything but this today. Sookie started to scream. Bartlett ran over to try to cover her mouth. Adele opened the door to see what the commotion was. Sookie was obviously terrified, and Bartlett was telling her to shut her goddamn mouth before Adele found them both out. He had his back to the door, and hadn’t heard it open. Adele, quick as a wink, ran back out to the closet and grabbed the shotgun. She returned to the bedroom doorway and cocked it.

“Come on out of there, Sookie.” Sookie tore herself out of his grip and ran out the door and behind Gran. Adele aimed the gun at her brother. “Bartlett, you get out of my house, get in your car, and never come back. If you touch Sookie again, I will shoot you, and I won’t miss.”

A very small voice from behind her said, “And Hadley, too.”

Adele closed her eyes in despair. “And Hadley, too.”

“Adele! Surely you don’t believe…”

“Get! Out! Get out before I shoot it off, you miserable piece of shit!”

Sookie had never ever heard her Gran swear. Bartlett ran from the house and got into his car. Sookie heard Jason saying, “Aw, Uncle Bartlett, you leavin’? I thought you was stayin’ for supper!” Bartlett didn’t answer him, and tore out of the yard so fast his tires spun. 

Jason came inside. “How come Uncle Bartlett left in such a hurry?”

Adele had put the gun back in the closet. Sookie stood behind her, holding on to her apron with her good hand. Adele replied, “He just had to go home, Honey. He forgot there was something he had to do.”

Soothing a child who couldn’t stand to be touched had been a conundrum since Sookie was born, or at least since they figured out that touch was the problem. Adele made Jason up a plate of supper from the dishes the neighbours had brought, and tucked Sookie up tight in her bed. She sat on the edge and rubbed Sookie’s back over the covers until Sookie cried herself to sleep. A few hours later, it was her turn.


	4. October 1987

It had been a year since Corbett and Michelle had died, and since Jason and Sookie had come to live with Adele. Life was much more difficult for Adele now - there was less money to go around, even with the oil lease on Corbett's land, and raising children was hard work, and Sookie and Jason were both handfuls in their own way. Adele had thought that she was finished raising babies, but here she was, almost 70 with a 9 and 12 year old to raise.

But, oh, they brought her so much joy. She couldn't imagine going back to a quiet house - not that she didn't miss it sometimes. But these days the house was almost always full of the chatter and laughter of happy children. She always had lots of cookies and lemonade, and had an open door policy. Jason, Eric, and Hoyt were almost always together, and they spent most of their time at Adele's house with Jason - Hoyt to get away from his overbearing mother, and Eric to get away from his domineering father. Eric's mother hadn't been feeling well lately, and had taken to lying down in the afternoons and into the evenings. There would always be a casserole in the oven, or something from the deli in Shreveport for dinner, but she almost never came out to eat with them any longer.

Sookie had blossomed in the past year. Adele had always been able to pull her out of her shell when it was just the two of them, but Sookie was downright chatty these days with almost everyone. She had even started standing up for herself, and between the Stackhouse temper and Sookie's natural stubbornness, her indignant voice and stomping foot were both common sounds these days. Maxine had commented on Sookie being sassy and talking back, but Adele put her in her place. Sookie needed gumption, or else the world was going to walk all over her. She was respectful when she needed to be, but Sookie had to be able to stand up for herself. She was still picked on and called names regularly - she was always going to be different, and the fools and the uneducated would always pick on those who weren't just like them. But she had two good friends, Tara and Lafayette, who were picked on, too, and it had brought the three of them closer together. Tara's home life was terrible, and Lafayette's wasn't much better, so they also spent a lot of their time at Adele's. 

Jason was still very angry, and he sometimes took that anger out on Sookie and her friends. But Adele did not let him get away with being mean and nasty. She didn't tolerate bullying, and Hoyt and Eric had started calling him out on it, too. They were both such nice boys. Adele was very pleased that Jason's friends, if not Jason himself, were not only very polite to her, but they treated the younger children just fine. There was certainly teasing - Eric especially loved to rile Sookie up and make her mad. He would tickle her, steal her book and hold it over his head where she couldn't reach, eat the last cookie and then rub it in, put a rubber spider on her leg, or hide her pencil when she got up from her homework to get a drink. But he also always stood up for her when other children were mean to her, he sometimes brought her special treats when he came to visit, and he was very patient with her, even though she had a very obvious crush on him and sometimes followed him around, much to Jason's dismay. Mostly Eric behaved like a doting older brother, and Adele knew that Sookie secretly loved the attention. Sookie had told her so when Adele had offered, in private, to step in. 

Eric had told Adele once that he hated being an only child, and wished that he had a lot of brothers and sisters. He loved the chaos and bustle and racket Adele's life had suddenly become.

Adele realized that she did, too, although going from having one mouth to feed to having up to seven most nights was a chore. She and Sookie had been putting up vegetables for weeks now, and the harvest was almost done. They had sowed peas and lettuce and broad beans for overwintering, and Jason had snared a few rabbits, and shot several ducks and turkeys. The second hand deep freeze Bud had delivered and put in the back porch with the washer and dryer was already full of that meat, vegetables, and lots of catfish and crawdaddies, and the pantry was bursting with jars of canned vegetables and sauces and pickles and preserves.

Jason, Eric, and Hoyt were taking off school and going deer hunting on Friday. They were going to camp in the woods behind Corbett's house, in the small hunting shack near the blind. Adele hoped that Jason would take down at least one, if not two. It would keep them well fed through spring. Sookie and Jason had both worked very hard to put food on the table, and Adele was very proud of them. There was an ATV in Corbett's shed the boys could use to haul out what they shot, and they had neighbours who would butcher the deer for a fair cut of the meat.

The school bus stopped at the end of the driveway, and today three kids got out - Sookie, Jason, and Eric. Adele was never sure how many would show up. It was Tuesday, and the boys had football practice after supper, which usually meant that Eric would come home with them on the bus. Lafayette or Tara might show up later, if things got bad at home. Adele always made extra, and whatever was left over got eaten by Jason eventually, who ate everything that wasn't nailed down. 

The front door slammed, and Adele's peaceful day doing housework and puttering around in the garden came to an end, with stomping feet and a loud laugh, a "Hey!" and a familiar, "Errrrric!" Adele swore Eric pestered Sookie just to find out how long he could get her to stretch out his name. 

Jason had little interest in teasing Sookie; he wanted nothing to do with her at all. She drove him nuts, especially since she was in love with Eric and followed him around all the time. He wished she would just go away and leave him the hell alone.

"Go on, Sookie! Git! Leave me an' Eric alone. We need to talk about man stuff."

"Aw, Jase. She's fine. I want a snack first, anyway. I smell cookies." 

Jason hated that Eric seemed to like bugging Sookie as much as Sookie liked to bug Jason, but he didn't argue with cookies. The kids ran into the kitchen, all three beautiful and blond with big blue eyes and happy smiles, and Adele realized how alive having them around made her feel. 

The children sat at the table with their cookies and told Adele all about their day. Jason and Eric had played dodgeball in gym class, and both had been left standing at the end (Sookie hated dodgeball. She and Lafayette were always the first kids attacked and the last kids picked for teams). Sookie had played with Tara and Lafayette at recess, and Danielle had called them Oreo. Jason thought that was the funniest thing he had ever heard, and laughed so hard he fell out of his chair. Adele gave him a dirty look, and then threatened him with a wooden spoon when he called Sookie Double Stuff, and punched her twice in the upper arm. It couldn't have been very hard, because she just yelled and stamped her feet instead of crying (or withdrawing, as she would have done a few months ago). "Jason! It ain't funny! It was mean!"

Eric said, "It's just because you're sooooooo sweeeeeeet." And pinched both of her cheeks. "Errrrrrrrrric!" More stomping.

But soon they were all laughing again, and Eric gave Sookie the last cookie and helped her with her homework. 

After their snack, Jason and Eric went upstairs to Jason's bedroom, and Sookie went outside to play in the leaves. Adele popped the lasagna in the oven and sat in the living room to knit and watch her stories. She had made Jason and Sookie hats for winter, and she thought she'd start one for Tara next. It didn't get that cold in Northern Louisiana, but it was cold enough some days to freeze little ears, and the good Lord knew Tara’s parents wouldn’t think to get her one. 

Jason was lying on his bed, throwing a football up in the air and catching it. Eric sat on the chair at Jason's desk, which had never seen a sheet of homework. Jason said, "I wish you wouldn't bug Sookie. She might leave us alone if you wouldn't give her any attention."

Eric shrugged. "She's a sweet little kid. And she's hilarious when she gets mad."

"You don't have to live with her."

"Is she really that bad? You hated her before when she hardly ever said anything."

Jason gave him a dirty look. Eric needed to be careful talking to Jason about before. 

"Look, I feel really bad for her. I like her. And I'd love to have a little sister to annoy. I think you should be nicer. Everyone is always so awful to her." Eric didn't bring up Michelle pulling her out of the tree, but they both thought about it. 

Jason wanted to change the subject. "Let's go hang out in the graveyard. We can plan the hunting trip." Jason was so excited that Gran and Mrs. Fortenberry and Eric's parents were letting them go. Gran said that he was being the man of the household and putting meat on the table, so she would treat him like one. Well, for this anyhow. Jason was taking the responsibility seriously; they would have fun, but they would behave themselves and he would bring home the venison. And, if they saw a razorback, he would bring home the bacon, too. 

Sookie raked all of the leaves in the back yard into a big pile, and jumped in. When she heard the boys' thoughts get closer, she burrowed down into the pile and covered herself all over. Eric and Jason came outside and walked towards the cemetery. When they got close to the pile of leaves, Sookie jumped out and screamed. 

Both boys shrieked in surprise. Sookie took off running towards the graveyard, giggling so hard she nearly tripped. Eric caught her first, and the boys tickled her and stuffed leaves down her back. They let Sookie climb on them and wrestle with them and pretend to beat them up. They raked some more and took running jumps into the pile, the boys getting more adventurous and doing more complicated tricks on each turn. When Gran called them in for supper, they were all laughing and happy and out of breath, their cheeks pink in the crisp evening breeze. 

After supper, they climbed into Gran's car and went to football practice. Adele sat in the stands with her neighbours and knitted and chatted and sipped the thermos full of coffee she'd brought along. Sookie sat beside her with her own thermos of hot chocolate, a book untouched in her lap, her eyes never leaving #17. 

That night, Adele tucked Sookie into bed. Sookie reached over and took her hand. Adele was sure it was the first time Sookie had ever touched her bare skin on purpose. Sookie squeezed and let go. She smiled up at Adele and said, "I had a really good day today."

Adele smiled, her eyes shiny with tears. "Me too, Sweetheart. Me too."

"I love you, Gran. Good night."

"Goodnight, sweetheart." Sookie held her forehead up for a kiss, and Adele quickly smoothed Sookie's hair back and kissed her softly on the forehead. Sookie took a long, shaky breath, but her smile was big and genuine. 

Adele knew that not all days would be as wonderful as today had been, but just to know that there could be not only good days, but wonderful days again… It was a treasure, even though it was bittersweet. She missed her son desperately. And, let's face it, she lost both of the men in her family a year ago. All of the jobs that her men used to do for her, she had to do them herself or hire them done now. Jason was really stepping up to the plate in some ways. But he could also be lazy and selfish. She hoped that he would grow up a little, but hoped he didn't have to grow up too fast. 

Tonight, they had played in the leaves together like happy carefree children, their anger and hurt and grief forgotten for a time. 

Adele realized how lonely she had been. She had her clubs and her church and the family came over on Sundays, but after the kids moved out and Mitchell passed away, she had felt so alone and untethered, like she was lacking any purpose. The past year had been full of so much upheaval, but so much happiness. And today, for the first time in a long time, she felt completely whole. They were a family, the three of them, and they were healing. There would be trials ahead, there always were, but they would get through them together.


	5. April, 1988

Adele had all of the rugs outside, stretched over the clothesline. Vacuuming did the trick for getting out the dirt on top, but Adele found that there was nothing like sunshine and elbow grease to get them really clean and smelling fresh. She took them out every Spring like clockwork. She had her grandmother’s rug beater, and was getting out her frustrations by beating the dirt right out of them.

“This looks familiar. It’s almost as if you were expecting me.”

Adele hadn’t heard that voice in a long long time, not since shortly after Hadley had been born, more than a dozen years ago. She always thought of him on rug beating day, of course. And part of her wondered if she really needed to beat the rugs, or if she was just hoping a beautiful fairy would show up if she did. She turned around. “Oh, Fintan.” She ran into his arms and he spun her around and kissed her, just as he did when she was a beautiful young woman. 

“You watch your weapon, Woman.” The rug beater was made of iron, which is lethal to fairies, but Fintan was teasing. He knew Adele would never hurt him. They’d had this same conversation almost 40 years ago. She threw it aside and invited him in.

Fintan stood in the living room, going from picture to picture on the mantel and the walls. He stopped in front of Sookie’s school photo. She was obviously a beautiful child, but her wide smile didn’t even come close to hiding the pain in her eyes. But, still, it was a marked improvement over last year’s picture, which was all cast and eyes. “And this is my newest grandchild?”

Adele smiled. “Yes, that’s Sookie. She turns 10 in July.”

“Can I see more?

Adele and Fintan sat on the couch together looking through Adele’s photo albums. She told him all about Linda and Corbett and the grandchildren. He had already known that Corbett had died and that Sookie and Jason had come to live with Adele. Fintan had seen Jason and Hadley after each of their births, but he had stayed away since then. He figured that after the spark had skipped Corbett and Linda, and then their firstborns, that it must have ended with him in the “Stackhouse” line. Maybe that was for the best. Corbett’s death showed that it was dangerous to be a hybrid even without an essential spark. He was taking a big risk by coming here today. He had made sure to come on a day his father was away, and he made sure that he hadn’t been followed. Being only a halfling had made him cautious, but Niall was far too sure of his own immortality to take any real care, even to the detriment of others. Breandan and his bigoted Water Fairies were the real threat, but Niall would likely lead them right to the rest of Fintan’s family with his carelessness.

Fintan’s life was in danger, too, and coming back to Louisiana had been a real risk. But he needed to see Adele one more time, and also to warn her.

They had come to the last page of the latest album. The most recent picture was one with six of the kids she thought of as hers, taken at Christmas time. Fintan looked at this one a long time. Adele smiled. “Those are Sookie and Jason’s best friends. That’s Hoyt next to Jason, and Eric with his arm around Sookie, and Lafayette and Tara on the other side. They all keep me awfully busy.”

“Adele, if you don’t mind, I would very much like to meet the grandchildren. When do they get home from school?”

Adele paused. 

“I’ll disguise myself, of course. I can look like a neighbour, if you point one out. Or I can be a stranger… I can say I knew you a long time ago. It wouldn’t be a lie. You know I can’t lie.”

Adele stroked Fintan’s face. It really was wonderful to see him again. She had always loved him, despite how guilty he had made her feel. But Fintan was like champagne - wonderful once in a while, but not something you could really enjoy every day. Mitchell had been more like a cup of tea - full of comfort, and you could drink as much as you wanted and not feel the least bit bad about it. But Mitchell was long gone, and Fintan was here right in front of her. A wonderful rare treat that she could now enjoy with no guilt at all. She could drink all the champagne she liked. After all, she was a grown woman. And she no longer had to worry about hurting the tea’s feelings.

“Fintan, I would like nothing more. They are both wonderful children, and I know that you would be so proud of them. But you would never be able to disguise yourself from Sookie.”

Fintan’s eyes widened. “Desmond?”

Adele nodded sadly. But Fintan’s eyes had lit up. “Oh, Adele. What a wonderful gift.”

“Gift? Some gift! I have half a mind to go back out there and get the rug beater so I could give you a wallop, Fintan Brigant! Go back and look at the pictures of that poor little girl and tell me if it looks like she was given any kind of gift.”

Fintan smiled sadly at Adele. “I meant the gift that you’ve given me. But what is wrong with Sookie, Darling?”

Adele sighed. She carried a lot of guilt about Sookie, and always would. In a way, the loss of Corbett felt almost like restitution, but whether it was an atonement or a punishment, she wasn’t quite sure. “Life is very hard for her, Fintan. She hears and sees so many things that a sweet little girl like her should never hear or see. She can’t block other thoughts out, so when many people are around, she can hardly think at all. She gets terrible headaches. She does just awful at school, even though she’s smart as a whip. She can’t stand to be touched because it amplifies the thoughts. People know she’s different and treat her terribly. Her own parents were terrified of her.”

He looked back at the picture of the children. Adele smiled. “Eric is special to Sookie because he’s from Sweden and thinks in a language she doesn’t understand. But he was young when he moved away, and I’m sure someday soon, that reprieve will be over. I haven’t warned Sookie, but it’s something I need to speak to her about before it happens. Give her a little time to get used to the idea. I know she’s going to be devastated. She has so little happiness, that frankly I’m scared to death to even bring it up. He is a good boy, and she loves him fiercely.”

Fintan sighed. “Adele, there are a few things I need to warn you about. It’s part of the reason I came today. Of course, I wanted to see you again.” He smiled at her and kissed her softly. “But now I am so very glad that I was able to come. Adele, the first thing that you must know is that you need to keep the children, and especially Sookie, far away from vampires.”

“Vampires!”

“Come now, Adele. After learning about fairies and demons, you’re going to balk at some vampires?”

She swatted his arm. “No, you old fool, I’m concerned about my sweet little granddaughter!”

He laughed at her, but not with malice. “Well, for now, I’m sure that she’ll be just fine, as long as she sticks close to home at night. Most vampires these days are very careful, and wouldn’t harm a child. It’s too dangerous. But fairy blood is intoxicating to vampires, and we smell delicious to them. The grandchildren are only an eighth fairy, which is very little and likely wouldn't cause much notice. But if Sookie has the essential spark, they may be drawn that much more to her scent. And vampires - well, most supernaturals, really - would be very happy to get their hands on a telepath. She would be very useful to them."

Adele glared at him. "Why in the world did you have me drink that thimble full of blood? It sounds like I have now made her life dangerous as well as terrible. What were you trying to gain?"

He sighed. "I know I'm half human, Adele. But I guess I still didn't really understand their limitations. Desmond assured me that it would be a wonderful gift, and I trusted him. I'm sure he had no ill intent; he's half human, too. Somehow the danger escaped us. Demons are all telepathic, but they are naturally able to control it. The secret is guarded jealously, therefore they are all protected. We, in our excitement to give this gift, may have neglected to think of the repercussions. We had no inkling of how hard it would be for her to control, or how hard it would be to keep such a secret, or how to protect a human with telepathy when they are so naturally vulnerable. I am truly sorry, and I'm sure Desmond will be as well, when he finds out."

He grabbed her hand and held it.

"Now, Adele, my father has other enemies as well. Other fairies. For now, I think everything should be fine, but I wanted you to be aware." He pulled a thick piece of paper, folded in thirds, from the inside pocket of his jacket. "Desmond lives in New Orleans. If you are concerned about anything, or need to reach me, please don't hesitate to contact him. He should be able to get word to me eventually. His number is on this paper. I have also left contact information for another good friend of mine. If you have any problem with vampires, call him first. But only if you already have a vampire problem. He'll be able to help you."

"Fintan, what is it?"

"I'm in grave danger, Adele. My father's enemies are after me. They despise hybrids like me and our daughter and grandchildren. They don't know about you and our family." Corbett had been a very unfortunate coincidence, discovered by Lochlan and Neave because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Fintan had been very relieved when he had confirmed it. "I must go into hiding to protect you. This is almost certainly the last time I will be able to come. I love you, Adele. Will you please make love to me one last time?"

"Fintan, I'm an old woman now…" Adele didn't think she would be able to face him without her clothes on. Fintan still looked like a young man, even though he was over 600 years old when Adele was born. 

"You're still as beautiful to me as you were all those years ago."

"Oh, horse puck." But she smiled warmly at him and pulled him into her bedroom. It was the first time they made love indoors; when Mitchell was still alive, she would never take Fintan into her marriage bed. Part of her wanted to lead him outside and make love to him in the grass in the sun, like old times, but her old bones would never recover. Fintan had always been a wonderful lover, and he was so sweet and so gentle, she felt like a woman half her age. 

He slipped out the door with a kiss minutes before the school bus stopped at the end of the driveway. Adele didn't think she would ever be able to wipe the smile off her face. 

All six kids ran down the school bus steps and up the driveway, laughing and talking. Before they got to the door, Eric tugged on one of Sookie's pigtails and took off running. He wanted to talk to her in private anyway, so might as well have a little fun first. 

"Errrrrrrrrric!" But she started chasing him. The other four went inside for a snack.

He was sitting on the Compton gravestone, the one he thought of as his, when she finally caught up. 

"Hey, Sookie Slowpoke. What took you so long?"

She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed. 

Sookie sat down in her favourite spot in Sweet Home Cemetery, leaned up against her Mama and Daddy's grave. Jason wouldn't walk in front of their grave at all, but it made Sookie feel good to be close to her Daddy, not scared. 

Eric and Sookie had been sneaking off to talk a lot lately. Eric's mother was sick all fall and winter, and had passed away in February of breast cancer. Eric missed her terribly, and it really helped to have two good friends who knew what it was like to lose a parent. He and Jason talked about it a lot, but sometimes Eric preferred talking about it with Sookie. Sookie was… Well, Sookie was smarter than Jason. And sometimes more mature. Jason understood what he was going through, but sometimes Sookie was just better to talk to about it.

Eric and his father had gone back to Sweden for a week in March for his mother's funeral. It was nice seeing Mormor and Farfar and some of his old friends, but he was very glad to get back to his life and friends in Louisiana, and get some space from his father. Eric spent even more time at Adele's now, and was home only when he absolutely had to be.

They talked for more than half an hour about how much Eric missed his mother and Sookie missed her Daddy. Eric talked about how angry he was with his father, and Sookie talked about how she felt about her Mama, which was very complicated. She had never really talked about her Mama with anyone, not even Gran. 

When Eric felt a little better, or at least more hungry than sad, he jumped down and offered Sookie a hand up. They walked back to the house and went inside for a snack. 

Fintan watched them go from behind a tree. He had learned how to shield his thoughts from Desmond long ago, and although he wasn't able to meet Sookie, who would have had questions about why she couldn't read his mind, he had very much enjoyed seeing her and listening to her talk about her father (and Fintan's son). She was a beautiful child, and so bright and charming. And she most certainly had a strong essential spark. He wished that he could have been part of his family's lives, that he could have loved them all up close instead of from afar. But he did what he had to do to keep his loved ones safe.

He was sad to go, but it was for the best. And it had been wonderful seeing Adele, loving her, one last time.


	6. July, 1989

It was Sookie's eleventh birthday, but she was anything but happy. Hadley had come to stay with them for a month to give Aunt Linda a break, and Sookie was miserable. And when Aunt Linda had dropped Hadley off, she hadn't even said happy birthday to Sookie. And she told Gran that she hoped Hadley would "get together" with Eric because he would be a "good influence". And Gran agreed! Even in her head!

Hadley was 14 and had started drinking and sleeping around with older guys. It was not only all she talked about, it was all she thought about. Drinking and boys. And now she was thinking about drinking and sleeping with Eric.

What's worse, Eric liked Hadley, too. Sookie didn't think he was ready to go all the way or anything, but he was certainly following Hadley around the house like a stupid lovesick puppy.

Tara and Lafayette and Eric and Hoyt had all come over for supper. Gran made fried chicken and mashed potatoes and country gravy and biscuits and fried okra with chocolate cake for dessert, and Sookie couldn't eat more than a couple of bites.

Sookie hadn't expected any birthday gifts, but Eric had brought her a book - To Kill A Mockingbird. They bonded over books quite a bit. Sookie read well past grade level, even if she did awful at school. She learned to read early by following along in her Daddy's head when he read her bedtime stories.

She gave Eric a hug thank you, and he kissed her cheek. But Hadley ruined it by pointing out that Sookie was blushing, and told everyone that it was because Sookie was madly in love with Eric, and she'd probably never ever wash her cheek again. She made it sound like Sookie talked about Eric all the time, even though she almost never did, and certainly never to Hadley. Sookie was getting more and more upset, but Hadley wouldn't stop.

"It's just so precious that little Sookie would have a crush on you, isn't it, Eric? I mean, it's completely hopeless! She's barely eleven years old! But she has it bad!"

"Oh yeah? Well at least I didn't suck off Andy Bellefleur for a half a can of warm Coors Lite behind the bleachers last Homecoming, Hadley Delahoussaye!" Sookie ran to her room and slammed the door.

Everyone at the table but Hadley and Eric burst into laughter. Hadley was mortified and angry. Sookie had chosen the memory Hadley was most ashamed of. The one that made her feel sick every time she thought of it. Andy was a complete loser and Hadley had been drunk. Eric felt bad for Sookie, and he found it funny, but he also really liked Hadley and didn't want to upset anybody.

Adele had missed all but the last few seconds of the exchange. It was certainly more information than she had wanted to know about Hadley, and it upset her that both of the girls knew so much about sex at such a young age. But you couldn't put that genie back in the bottle.

Adele had known that having Hadley here was going to cause problems, but poor Linda was feeling so poorly, and Hadley had been a nightmare this past school year. But Hadley treated Sookie even worse since her parents died. It was the worst combination - Sookie hated the attention she got for being "special" (however that was defined), while Hadley was intensely jealous of it. The thought of how miserable Sookie's life was didn't register one bit.

Sookie spent the rest of the night in her room, and refused to come back out again. Hadley french kissed Eric on the porch swing and replayed the memory over and over and over again. She was hoping to add more memories to it before she had to go back to Monroe, so she could play those over and over in her brain for Sookie to see, too.

After all of the kids had left, Adele knocked on Sookie's door.

"Go away!"

"Sookie. It's your grandmother." Sookie, of course, knew exactly who it had been, but Adele pretended to give her the benefit of the doubt and gave her a chance to correct her attitude and mind her manners.

"Oh. Sorry, Gran. You can come in."

Adele went into Sookie's room and sat down on the bed. Sookie was reading the book that Eric had brought for her, or was at least trying. Her eyes were very red, and she looked like she'd done a lot more crying than reading.

"Why does she hate me so much, Gran? I mean, I know why, but…"

"But you don't understand why."

Sookie nodded.

"She's jealous of you, Sweetheart."

Sookie looked incredulous. "Why would anyone be jealous of me?"

Adele laughed. "Well, Honey, there are a lot of reasons. You're beautiful. You're smart, and sweet, and kind. You have a big heart and you always try to help people, even if they don't treat you well."

"I didn't help Hadley a little while ago."

Adele snorted, "No, Honey, but you were provoked. You need to stick up for yourself, and I'm proud of you for doing so, even if I'm not so proud of what you said." She winked at Sookie.

Adele would have liked to have told Sookie that Hadley didn't hate her, not really. But it was pointless to use platitudes with Sookie. It was good to know where you stood with people, but knowing in such graphic detail was surely a terrible burden.

Hadley and Jason were in the cemetery, so Adele felt free to speak frankly with her. "Sookie, honey, I am sure that Hadley thinks that she hates you. And, I suppose, that means that part of her does. But you can only see what's inside her head, not what's inside her heart. And I think deep down she does love you. Do you hear any shame from her?"

Sookie shrugged. "Sometimes. But it just makes her meaner."

"Unfortunately, Hadley's kind of messed up because of some of the things that have happened to her."

"But…" Sookie couldn't really put into words what she wanted to say.

"But things are worse for you, and you would never treat anyone that way?"

Sookie shrugged, and then nodded. Sometimes she wondered if Gran could read her mind.

"I know it's hard to tell sometimes. But you are a lot stronger than Hadley."

"I don't feel very strong."

"Oh sweetheart. You are so strong. I am amazed every day at how far you've come. Every time you give me a hug or kiss my cheek, I could just burst. I am so very proud of you."

"Gran… Why did you think that Eric would be good for Hadley?"

Adele sighed. This was why living with a telepath was its own kind of struggle. "Well, Sookie, because a boy like Eric would be good for Hadley. Someone her own age who knows his own mind and doesn't go along with the crowd and who is interested in things 14 year olds do."

"But, Gran! Eric's mine!"

"Sookie, Eric is three and a half years older than you. And, Honey, it's about time I warned you. He's been speaking English for three years now, and sooner or later he will be thinking in English just like everybody else. I'm surprised it hasn't started yet."

"His father only lets him speak Swedish at home now…"

"Sookie… Even so, it won't last forever."

"Gran, it's not fair! I'm never going to be able to have a boyfriend or get married or have kids or anything. I suck at school and I'm never going to go to college or get a good job. At least with Eric I could just not listen, since I can't understand it anyway. He's my only chance to be normal."

"Well, by the time you're just about grown, your age won't make a lick of difference. You're way too young to have a boyfriend for a long time yet, anyway. And a lot can change in a few years. "

"Hadley kissed Eric. She keeps playing the memory over and over again. She's planning on finding ways to do other things with him. She doesn't even really like him. She only wants him because I love him. I try to block her out, but it's like she's yelling at me. Or she'll touch me on purpose. "

"Oh, honey. I'm sorry."

"She's even remembering the times she… she… did it… with other guys, but she's changed them so they have Eric's face. But I know those ones aren't really him."

"But she doesn't really like him?"

"Well, she likes him OK, but she doesn't like him enough to stop drinking and having sex after she goes back home. She likes him because she has to be here and you won't let her go get drunk and fool around, so he's her best option. So she'll use him while he's convenient and then go back to going to parties every weekend when she goes back home. I think it's really mean that you and Aunt Linda are throwing her at him when he's only going to get hurt. Because he really likes her."

"Honey, we aren't throwing her at him. I didn't say a word to either one of them!"

"Well, you told Aunt Linda that I'm in love with Eric, and she told Hadley because she knew Hadley would go after him to pick on me. So now I have to spend almost my whole summer, the best part of the whole year, living with someone who hates me and who is planning on spending the whole time she's here making me as miserable as possible. At least during the school year I don't live with the bullies twenty-four seven."

"Oh, Sookie. I'm so sorry. I will try talking to her."

"No, Gran. Then she'll just beat me up for snitching. It's fine. I'll just try to avoid her as much as possible."

Sookie got up almost every morning, did any chores Gran wanted her to do, packed a lunch, her radio, a couple of books, and some suntan lotion in her backpack, and biked over to her old house, where she had lived when her parents were alive. She laid on the grass or on the old hammock and read or listened to music or fished in the pond. There were poles and line and hooks and bobbers in the shed, and plenty of worms in the old garden.

One day, near the end of the month, Jason, Eric, and Hadley decided to go fishing at the old house. None of them knew that Sookie had been spending most of her time there, but Hadley was giddy when she saw Sookie's bike. Jason went into the shed to find poles and tackle for everyone.

Sookie had fallen asleep in the hammock; Hadley had taken to mentally screaming at her at night to keep her awake. With lots of memories of her make out sessions with Eric sprinkled in, of course.

Eric hadn't really seen Sookie for weeks. When she was at the house, she was in her room with the door closed. Adele even let her eat in there. Jason said it was because she was being a brat, but Eric didn't think so. He didn't think Adele would go along with that. He kind of missed the kid.

Eric called, "Hey, Sookie Sassbox! There you are!"

Sookie groaned. She did not want to deal with this. Hadley was going home in just a few days. She had really hoped to be able to avoid another confrontation. The last time she was in a room with Hadley and Eric, she had done something she wasn't proud of and called attention to her disability. And that time they weren't holding hands. Gag.

"Oh. Hey, guys. I was just gonna head home."

"Sookie, you were asleep. You weren't gonna do anything except snore."

Sookie looked around for her shoes and the library books she'd brought. It might rain later, so she couldn't leave them to get wet. She had found her shoes, and was checking her bag for the third time for the books when Eric said, "Looking for something?" with his hand behind his back and a big grin on his face.

"Eric, do you have my books?"

"I don't know. What do they look like?"

She rolled her eyes. "They're rectangles with lots of pages and pictures on the front. They look like books."

"Hmmm. Doesn't sound familiar."

"Eric."

"Come on. You can do better than that!"

Sookie grabbed at his arm and he held the books over his head.

"Eric! Give me the books!" Sookie tried to climb up Eric's body to reach his arm. Hadley was getting jealous that Eric was paying all of this attention to Sookie. She wanted to rub her relationship with Eric in Sookie's face, not the other way around. Better to have fun with Eric when he was around and then torment Sookie when he wasn't. She said, "Eric, this is boring. Just let her leave."

It was like Hadley hadn't said a word. "No, you have to put more whine into it. And almost roll your Rs. But not quite! Just really stretch it out."

"Eric! Give me my books!"

"No, Sookie! Errrrrrric! Come on! Say the magic word!"

"Eric! Please!"

"Noooo. Not please! Errrrrrrrrric! Come on!" He grabbed Sookie's head and chin to make her mouth along when he whined, "Errrrrrrrrric."

Hadley broke in, "Eric! Give her her books so she'll get the fuck out of here."

Hadley was replaying Hadley and Eric's Greatest Hits in her head, and Eric was determined to screw with her. Sookie yanked her head out of Eric's hands and said, "Just forget it." She grabbed her bike and pedaled away with tears in her eyes.

Hadley said, 'That was really lame," and walked away from him. Eric felt bad and kind of lost. He was just goofing around!

Hadley spent the rest of the afternoon sulking while Jason enjoyed Eric's undivided attention for a change. Jason liked Hadley, but she had been hogging Eric's attention since she got there.

Both Jason and Sookie were glad to see Hadley go back to Monroe. Actually, Eric was kind of glad, too. The day after she left, Eric brought Sookie a Strawberry Shortcake bar from the ice cream truck and ruffled her hair in apology. She smiled shyly at him and tried to ignore when he thought in English that he was glad that she had forgiven him.


	7. November, 1990

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty short one today, so I'm not going to hold it for later. :P I think maybe I need a life? :P These kids are growing up so fast. I suppose that happens when you can just skip whole years and stuff. ;) Thanks, as always, to ilovemysteries for everything. She's the best beta in all the land.

Sookie was sitting with her arms crossed, glaring at a baby doll that was lying on the couch crying. "This is so lame! It's ridiculous that they're making me take sex ed in the first place when I could teach the stupid class, as much sex as I have to see. Middle school is disgusting."

Jason and Eric, both in the second year of high school, agreed that middle schoolers could be pretty gross. Of course, high schoolers weren't much better.

"The boys in my class have all decided the next great thing to do is picturing themselves having sex with me in every way you could possibly imagine. It makes me feel really gross. And some of them are kind of scary, what they want to do." She shivered.

"Who's doin' that, Sook? Because that's some fucked up shit." Jason was pissed, and he planned to kick some seventh grade ass. He and Eric shared a look. They would take care of business.

Sookie shrugged. "Who isn't? Even the teachers sometimes think about it, but at least not on purpose. Yuck." It sucked. You couldn't police people's thoughts, but it felt very much like a violation. And she would know.

"Well, you point them out Friday night at the game and Eric, Hoyt and me will take care of it after." Jason smiled a kind of evil grin. The boys were all starters on the Bon Temps Tigers team now that they were in high school, and they would be in the mood for kicking some ass in retribution if they lost, or celebration if they won.

Eric said, "So, what's up with Leif here?"

Sookie gave Eric a bland look. "That," she pointed at the doll with disgust and disdain, "is a Realbaby. It's a baby simulator that's supposed to make stupid little twelve year olds like me not want to have sex. I already don't want to have sex, despite the fact that I have to see myself doing it with half the school every single day. And we all know that I'm never going to have babies. Why do I need to take sex ed?"

"What do you mean you're never going to have babies? What about Leif?"

Sookie was completely exasperated. "Eric? What in the world are you talking about?"

"Leif!" He gestured at the doll, who was still crying face down on the couch. Eric gingerly picked it up and handed it to Sookie.

She looked at him like he was crazy. "OK, Eric. I give up. Why is it named Leif?"

"It? I can't believe you would say such a thing!"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Why do you insist on driving me crazy all the time?"

"Why are you so adorable when I make you crazy?" He smiled at her and pinched her cheek.

Jason rolled his eyes at both of them. "I'm goin' upstairs. You coming, Eric?"

"Sure. Bye Sookie. Bye Leif."

Sookie fed the stupid baby, changed the stupid baby, rocked the stupid baby, and the stupid baby was still crying. It was once again face down on the couch, but this time, under the cushion. Sookie was watching TV and trying desperately to ignore it. What was another F? They just kept pushing her through whether she passed or not, anyway. Finally, Sookie stuck the doll in her bedroom closet and closed the door. The stupid thing hadn't stopped crying since she'd gotten off the bus.

Sookie helped Gran with supper and did her homework while it was cooking. She set the table and made a salad to go with the casserole. Gran went to call the boys down for supper while Sookie finished making a fresh pitcher of lemonade.

"Thank you, Sookie. You're always such a big help to me."

Sookie smiled and put the casserole on a trivet on the table just as Jason and Eric came into the kitchen laughing and pushing each other. Eric cleared his throat and said, "Dinner looks wonderful, dear. But where's Leif?"

Sookie did something that looked and sounded suspiciously like a foot stomp. Her eyes flashed with fire. "I swear to God, Eric, if you don't cut this out, I'll Leif you."

Jason rolled his eyes, piled his plate high, and started shoveling it in his mouth. "God, Jason, you're disgusting."

Jason talked around a mouthful of casserole, "How about now?"

Adele pretended to ignore it all. She got a huge kick out of the kids and their antics.

"Mrs. Stackhouse, may I be excused for a moment?"

"Of course, Eric."

Eric got up from the table and disappeared. Three or four minutes later, the sound of a baby crying got closer. Sookie put her fork down and crossed her arms. Eric came in holding the crying baby.

"Sookie, I'm afraid that you're not being a very attentive mother to Leif." Sookie glared at him.

"Jason, do you have any idea what your idiot friend is talking about?"

Jason was busy loading up his plate with seconds. "Nope."

"Eric. Give me that stupid baby."

"Sookie! That's no way to talk about your own child!"

"Ok, Eric. That's it." She got up and ripped the doll out of his arms. "What is your problem? Why are you calling this stupid doll Leif?"

"Well, because he's Eric's son, of course." And he winked at her. Sookie turned about twelve shades of red.

"Dinner was lovely as always, Mrs. Stackhouse. Thank you."

"You're very welcome, Eric." She smiled at him in amusement. He really was such a polite young man. And he really was very good at riling up Sookie. Adele could tell Sookie was having a very hard time pretending to stay angry, although she couldn't decide whether to laugh or float right up to the ceiling.

Eric and Jason left the table and went back upstairs to Jason's room.

Sookie looked at her grandmother, and they both burst into giggles.


	8. August, 1991

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, a huge thanks to ilovemysteries for her awesome beta work. <3

Adele and Linda were going to Houston for an experimental treatment for Linda's uterine cancer. UT had one of the best cancer treatment centers in the world. They would be gone for 3 nights, and Adele hated the thought of leaving the kids home alone, but she just didn't have much choice. Linda wasn't up to driving herself, and there was nobody else to do it. Hadley had run away in June after she had flunked tenth grade, and had just come back home. Not the best idea to leave her alone with no supervision except for Jason, of all people, but she would make their lives miserable if they took her along. Linda needed to be the priority. Adele thought she should probably at least take Sookie with her, but she wasn't sure. Sookie did not do well at hospitals at all, and Adele wasn't sure a hotel would be much better. And, to be honest, of the three, Sookie was by far the most mature, even if she was barely 13 instead of 16.

"Sookie, are you sure you'll be OK to stay here with Jason and Hadley?"

"Gran, are you sure the house will still be standing when you get back if I don't?"

"Don't you sass me, young lady."

"Sorry, Gran."

Eric cut in, "I'll make sure they behave themselves, Mrs. Stackhouse. Especially Sookie. We all know what a troublemaker she can be." Eric swung his arm over Sookie's shoulder. She elbowed him in the stomach.

Hoyt said, "Me too, Mrs. Stackhouse!" Hoyt said "me too" a lot.

Having Eric stay really did make Adele feel better, although she couldn't very well put him in charge. She said, "Jason, Hadley, no parties. No girls. No other boys. No drinking. No sex. No drugs. Eric and Hoyt can stay, but all three of you need to sleep upstairs. Hadley, you have to sleep on the couch."

"Yes, Gran." Jason and Hadley said in unison.

"Sookie, you can have Tara or Lafayette over during the day, but not overnight."

That was OK with Sookie; neither of them would want to come to be harrassed by Hadley, anyway, and Sookie wasn't a big fan of sleepovers. Extra brains in her room made it really hard to sleep. Having Hadley at the house was bad enough.

"OK, Gran."

"It's about four and a half hours or so from Houston, so we might not get back until late on Saturday. We'll likely have to stop a few times to give Linda a break. There's plenty to eat in the fridge and a couple of casseroles in the freezer you can heat up. Hoyt's mother will be checking in on you a couple of times to make sure you aren't up to no good. Y'all behave yourselves, you hear?"

Everyone said, "Yes, Gran." or "Yes, Mrs. Stackhouse."

"Hadley. I really do expect you to behave yourself and follow the rules. And no picking on Sookie and her friends."

Hadley rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"You all be good, and I'll see you on Saturday."

Adele kissed her grandchildren and got into the car where Linda was already waiting. The kids all waved as the ladies drove up the driveway and turned onto Hummingbird Road.

As soon as the car was out of sight, there was a lot of whooping and hand slapping and possibly a bit of dancing.

Jason and Hadley looked at each other and smiled. "Friday night?" Jason asked.

Hadley nodded. "But Sookie will tell."

Sookie rolled her eyes. "I don't care if you have a stupid party. I won't tell. But I'm not going to clean up after, either."

"Come on, Sook! You do it so much better than I do."

"Screw you, Jason. We all know I'm not going to enjoy myself. You want a party, you get to clean up after. I'll do my part by not telling Gran how much beer you drink or which girls you have sex with."

Jason shrugged. "Sounds fair." Sookie would help on Saturday knowing that Gran was due home anyway, especially if he slept in. He'd hide out in his room until after noon, just in case.

The boys had football practice twice a day all week. Hadley always followed along; Sookie was sure that she was determined to sleep with every single guy on the team. Well, except Jason. Of course, Hadley wanted Eric most, but he wasn't really interested. She was really pretty, and a sure thing, but she was big into drugs and had slept with half the kids in Monroe and almost as many in Bon Temps. Also, she was kind of a bitch.

Sookie spent the rest of Wednesday alone, reading and soaking up the sun. It was blissful. She decided to make a big pot of spaghetti for supper, and the sauce simmered away all afternoon. Sookie was in the kitchen boiling water for the pasta when Hadley and the boys all came in.

"Damn, Sook. That smells great."

"Thanks, Jason. Hey everybody. It'll be ready in fifteen, if you want to set the table while I make the salad and heat up some garlic bread."

Soon, they were all eating and talking and laughing happily. Hadley had made out with Kevin Pryor at practice, and was in a decent mood.

Sookie said, "Jase, I was thinking. Why don't y'all have the party at the old house? People can swim in the pond and bring chairs and blankets to sit on. The old outhouse is there to use, or you can grab the keys and use the gravity well and generator." And, Sookie thought, she could stay home alone instead of getting insulted and felt up all night.

"Hey! That ain't bad, Sookie! And Gran won't even see the mess!"

The next day, Hadley went off with the boys, and Sookie spent the day outside in the sun again. She read and sang along to the radio (as loud as she was out of tune), and had just about the perfect day. Maxine Fortenberry stopped by and Sookie assured her that everything was fine.

Sookie decided to make breakfast for supper, so she cut up some fruit, made a triple batch of buttermilk biscuits, cooked up a pound of bacon, and made a huge pan of sausage gravy. She was scrambling a dozen eggs when the hoard came pouring in from football practice. Jason, Hoyt, and Eric kissed Sookie's cheek on the way to the table. "Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. I squeezed some OJ. Anyone want coffee?" She had been working so hard on getting used to small amounts of contact like that, and it was really paying off. She didn't even flinch, and really enjoyed their appreciation, if not so much the touch itself. Well, except Eric's.

Hadley was so annoyed with Sookie. She excused herself from the table and went outside and lit a smoke. She walked over to the graveyard and sat down on "Eric's" grave. The Compton one. She wanted to think, and didn't want to be overheard.

God, she hated Sookie. She was so adorable and perky and blonde and already had bigger boobs than Hadley. None of the boys wanted Sookie because she was crazy, but they would probably overlook that if she wasn't such a goody goody.

And if Sookie was crazy, how did she always have her shit together? Always so kind and helpful and friendly, at least when she wasn't being a complete bitch. Little Miss Perfect, with the tan and the curves and the big smile and the nice room and cooking perfect food with hot guys kissing her and putting their arms around her all the time. Whatever happened to 'oh no don't touch me I can't stand it'? And she got to live with Gran instead of Hadley's stupid sick mother.

Hadley remembered when Sookie was just a little mute kid who never made any noise unless she was screaming at the top of her lungs. Or when she would say really dirty things and her mother would slap her mouth. She wasn't always Bumpkin Barbie.

Hadley got herself under control. She needed a plan, and she needed to figure out a way to shield her thoughts, or at least not think about it until either Sookie was asleep, or until she went to practice the next day.

She hung out in the graveyard, smoking and planning, until really late. Jason and Hoyt wandered over after a while, and they all smoked some weed and shot the shit. Hadley and Hoyt made out for a while, and Jason laughed at them. He was always giggly when he was stoned.

Hadley made her bed up on the couch, trying to name all of the teachers she had ever had in order, and then trying to decide whether she would rather fuck River Phoenix, Christian Slater, or Johnny Depp. Anything to keep her mind occupied.

She was pleasantly stoned, and fell asleep quickly after deciding that it was definitely River Phoenix.

The next day, Friday, Sookie mowed the lawn. It was usually Jason's job, but two practices a day in the August heat and full pads was brutal. She decided to take pity on him. She didn't mind too much; she passed the time daydreaming about Eric. What if, instead of kissing her cheek, he kissed her lips. And maybe put his hand up under her shirt…

She got the front lawn done and took a break, drinking a glass of sweet tea straight down in the kitchen, and then pouring another glass that she sipped more slowly out on the porch swing. She switched out the laundry and hung the wet load out on the line, and then mowed the back yard. Hadley and the guys were coming back after practice, and they'd eat before heading over to the old house for the party.

After she got the yard done, she got a shower, brought in and put away the first load of laundry and hung out the second, and then relaxed in front of the TV for a couple of hours. There wasn't much on this time of day except Gran's stories. She wrinkled her nose, but watched for a little while anyway. Finally she gave up and brought in the last load of laundry and put it away.

By then, it was just about time for supper, so she made a big salad and a bunch of hamburger patties that she fried on Gran's huge pancake griddle. She put a couple of bags of potato chips and the condiments and buns on the table, and was just putting the cheese on the burgers to melt when everyone got home.

"Hey guys! Supper's ready. Can someone grab some plates, please?"

"Sookie, you're amazing!"

"Thanks, Eric."

"Yeah Sook. You rock."

"Thanks Hoyt."

"Thank you so much, Sookie. Really. This looks awesome!"

"Uh… Thanks, Had."

Well, that was different. For the first time, maybe ever, Sookie listened in on what Hadley was thinking, on purpose. She really liked the food. She was having a really good time here. She loved spending time at the field, hanging out in the stands. She loved it at Gran's house. She was… happy. Sookie smiled at Hadley and then dug in.

After they ate, Eric said, "I'd help you with the dishes again, Sookie, but we gotta get going. There will be kids showing up in a half hour, and we have to set up." Eric's dad had bought him a car when he turned 16, and being the only one with wheels, he was in charge of getting people places.

"No problem. Have fun. And be careful. Crash there if you're drinking or smoking weed, OK? And wear a condom."

Eric laughed. "Yes, Dear." She smiled at the old joke. Gran had been calling them an old married couple for years. "Jason should have thanked you for mowing the lawn."

Sookie rolled her eyes. "Well, it's a good thing I didn't expect him to. Always pays to keep your expectations low."

"I'll kick his ass for you, kid."

"Thanks, Eric. You rock."

Hadley poked her head into the kitchen and said, "Hey, Eric? I'll help Sookie with the dishes if you'll come back and pick me up when you're all done getting set up."

Eric looked at Sookie with one eyebrow raised. Sookie shrugged one shoulder. "Sure, Hadley. I'll be back in an hour or so."

Hadley washed while Sookie dried and put away, since she was more familiar with the kitchen. Hadley didn't pay attention to details like that, anyway.

"What did you and Eric do in here last night when we were in the graveyard?"

"He helped me with the dishes, and then we played a game of Scrabble. It was nice. He won, but only barely."

"I think he really likes you, Sookie."

"He thinks of me like a little sister, Had. He teases me and needles me and noogies me and is crazy protective of me, and drives me batshit crazy, but not in an I'm madly in love with you kind of way at all. I wish."

Dammit. She shouldn't have said that last part out loud.

"Well, today he told me that he hoped you would come to the party. There are going to be kissing games…"

"Hadley, I am not going to roll the dice and end up kissing gross high school boys with beer breath and nasty thoughts. No thank you. Besides, everyone would just make fun of me anyway."

"If you're having a bad time, I'll call you a cab."

"Hadley, there's no phone there."

"Fine! We'll put your bike in Eric's trunk. I can't believe he drives a Camaro! So rad. But, honestly, a pickup would be a hell of a lot more convenient. Or even an El Camino."

"Hadley, I'm not going to the party."

Hadley sighed dramatically and said, "Fine!" She grabbed Sookie's wrist and replayed the conversation she'd had with Eric earlier today. Well, most of it. Hadley, who was a hell of a liar, had done a little… creative editing. She'd been replaying the same little clip, reality blended with a hint of fantasy, all afternoon until she could play it forward and back. She had no idea if this would work, but if it did… Fireworks. And a comeuppance for Little Miss Perfect and Mr. High and Mighty.

Hadley was sitting next to Eric in the bleachers at the high school football field. He was wearing his practice jersey, still number 17. He said, "I really do wish Sookie would come tonight. I'll stick up for her if anyone fucks with her. Everyone is scared shitless of me."

"You really like her, don't you?"

"Yeah, she's incredible."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I really like her, but I don't know if she'd go out with me."

"Maybe you can ask her tonight? I'll make sure she comes."

Hadley took her hand back. In fact, she and Eric had said all of those things. But Eric had been talking about asking out an older girl he saw working at the mall in Monroe, and Hadley had been advising Eric to ask Sookie if she could babysit for his Dad's girlfriend next weekend, so Eric didn't have to. He was hoping to be out on that date. Sookie was good with the spawn, and she could always use the money. He forgot to ask last night, and hated to ask when Jason was around because he always gave him a hard time about "using his sister". As if he gave a shit. Eric liked Sookie way better than Jason did, anyway. He was doing her a favour.

Eric had said that Sookie was incredible. Right before he said she was like a little sister to him.

Sookie bit her lip. "Really, Had? You're not messing with me?"

"As if I could."

"Could you maybe help me with my makeup?"

"Sure, Sookie." She almost felt bad. Enough of that. She blanked her mind of everything but what she was doing. She made herself relax and enjoy herself, and just didn't think of who she was getting ready with. She could get along with everyone. Well, except her mother. She did Sookie's hair and gave her a nice, natural makeup. Sookie looked breathtaking in her tiny little cutoffs and crop top. And not in a things-you-tell-mothers-about-their-ugly-babies kind of way. Hadley did her own makeup, heavy on the black, and put on a wide black velvet choker, a red camisole and a tiny black lace skirt.

"You're sure about this, Hadley?"

"Oh, Sookie. Absolutely. I want to make up for treating you like shit a couple of years ago. I was awful, and I'm really sorry." She had a lot of practice with false apologies, and she oozed sincerity. In fact, she kind of almost convinced herself!

Sookie was so nervous. She paced back and forth across the living room, stopping to look out the window every few minutes. "Sookie. Chill. I'm gonna go grab a smoke on the porch swing." Mostly, she needed a break from Crazy Sookie in there.

Eric pulled into the driveway and, after giving herself a pep talk, Sookie went outside to greet him. "Hey, Sookie! You're coming? That's awesome. You two beauties look almost good enough to eat." He waggled his eyebrows at them.

Hadley swatted him on the way by, hard. "Pervert."

"Hadley, he's a 16 year old guy. Of course he's a pervert. That's like saying he's tall and full of himself and funny looking."

"Sookie! You wound me."

She stuck her tongue out at him and laughed, and a lot of the butterflies just sort of flew away. This was Eric. The same Eric she'd known and loved for more than five years. She saw him almost every day, and he was like part of her family, whether he liked her back or not.

"I'm really glad you're coming." He was completely sincere, and Sookie smiled shyly. Hadley even climbed in the back seat, letting Sookie ride shotgun. Eric threw Sookie's bike in his trunk and bungeed it shut when it wouldn't quite latch.

One of the kids in school, a senior, made moonshine on the sly and brought a bottle. Hadley had a half an ounce of pot (that she was willing to sell, not give away), and Andy Bellefleur had a fake ID and everyone kicked in for a keg. And anything leftover could stay in the house for next time.

There were chips and snacks laid out on the picnic tables, and the generator was running to power the patio lanterns and the radio. Someone had lit a bonfire in the pit, and some kids were roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. There were about a dozen people in the pond, and four were playing chicken. Dawn Green was on Jason's shoulders, and Dawn was scratching and clawing at poor dumpy Portia Bellefleur, who was on her brother Andy's shoulders. Maudette Pickens was eyeing Jason from across the pond.

"Hey, Sook. You want a drink?"

"Sure. I'll have a coke, I guess."

"No beer?" Eric was teasing.

"Sure, Eric. I'll just go on over and do some keg stands with my brother."

"I think I'd pay to see that."

They both laughed. Eric grabbed them each a coke out of the cooler.

"Thanks, Eric. You can go hang out with your buddies. You don't need to hang out with the little weird kid."

"Don't say that, Sookie. You're awesome. I'm not ashamed to be seen with you or anything stupid like that."

"Thanks, Eric." Her heart was beating a million beats a minute.

"Anyway, I'm gonna go for a swim. Catch you later."

He drained his coke, threw the empty in the can from 20 feet away, and pulled off his shirt and threw it on the grass. Sookie stared, but she was far from the only one. Eric worked out and played a bunch of sports and he was beyond hot. He ran and jumped off the old dock, doing a cannonball and landing inches away from Jason and Dawn. Jason basically dropped Dawn backwards off his shoulders while he and Eric had an epic battle, dunking each other, splashing everyone around them, and having a grand old time.

After they'd calmed down, Sookie said, "Too bad Laff didn't come. That was homoerotic as hell."

"Ha ha, Sookie. I heard that."

"That's why I said it so loud, Eric."

He abandoned Jason and started walking out of the pond. Actually, it was more like stalking. He eyed his prey and took long determined strides, his arms out and ready to grab at a moment's notice. His long legs sluiced through the water, and a couple of girls squealed and almost fell over trying to get out of his way. He paid them no mind. Sookie looked around. Was there anywhere she could go to get away in time? She could run, but he was so much faster. She tried to make a decision. She feinted one way and then ran hard, as fast as she could, the other. She made it no more than a half a dozen steps before he grabbed her from behind, scooped her up, and threw her over his shoulder. She was now his!

He carried her, feeling very much like a proud caveman showing off his newest kill. He walked out to the end of the dock and grabbed her by the legs and yanked and flipped her so she was cradled in his arms. And he leaned over and dropped her, unceremoniously, into the pond. She came up laughing and splashed him. "I was too hot anyway."

As the night went on, the kids all got a little bit drunker, a whole lot louder, and there were couples making out here and there all over the place. The house was open, and the beds and couches were just about all full, too.

Hadley had one hell of a buzz on and was feeling fine. Time to put part two of the plan into effect.

"Hey, everyone! It's time to play Seven Minutes in Heaven! Or in Jason's shed, anyhow. Let's go! Who's gonna play?"

A bunch of kids who were horny or bored or feeling lucky all wrote down their names on strips of paper, and Hadley put some in the boy hat (a fishing cap that was hanging on a nail in the shed) and the rest in the girl hat (a sun hat that Hadley had found in the hall closet inside. Michelle had worn it whenever she worked in the garden. Unlike her daughter, she stayed out of the sun as much as possible to keep herself looking young. Something she hadn't really had to worry about, as it turned out).

The first couple to go were Maudette Pickens and Hoyt. Both looked pleased as punch and they went in the shed and closed the door. The drunker kids started beating on the doors and windows, but they couldn't see inside no matter how hard they tried. After about 15 minutes (Hadley was a terrible judge of time and had no watch), she opened the door on them and Hoyt and Maudette both came out. Hoyt was pink from the tips of his ears to his toes - he was only wearing very tented swim trunks- and Maudette looked like the cat who ate the canary.

Hadley called a few other names and, two by two, they all took their turns in "heaven". After Jason and Dawn came out (and then went straight into the house, upstairs and into his parents' old bed), Hadley called in a sing-song voice, "Eric and Sookie! It's your turn in heaven!"

They froze and looked at each other. Sookie said, "I didn't sign up, Had."

"Me either."

"Oh, well, if you're too chicken…"

"I'm not chicken. I'm just not playing."

"Me either, Hadley. She's 13, for fuck's sake."

Sookie frowned. Hadley said, "It's OK, Sookie. I get it. You're too much of a baby."

Everyone was staring. Sookie willed the tears out of her eyes, held her head up high, and walked into the shed. Eric shot Hadley a filthy look and followed Sookie. He closed the door. It was very dark inside and he couldn't see shit. "Where are you, Sook?"

Sookie lit a match from the pack on the workbench and lit a couple of citronella candles that were on a shelf. She sat on the old couch that she used to sit on as a little girl while she watched her Daddy work.

"Hadley told me you wanted to ask me out today. She even manipulated me by showing me what I thought was a memory of a conversation you all had. I should have known it was bullshit."

He sat next to her on the couch and put his arm around her shoulders. He kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry, Sookie."

She shrugged. "It was stupid. Of course you don't want to ask me out. I'm dumb little Crazy Sookie, the town joke. And I'm 'only 13, for fuck's sake'." She tried to do her best Eric voice.

"Hey. Cut that out, Sookie. You're great. Like, really great. Any guy would be lucky. You're gorgeous and awesome and caring and smart and fun and…"

She was looking at him and he just… kind of got lost. He leaned forward and kissed her. She froze for a moment in shock, her eyes almost crossed trying to look at him, trying to make sense out of what was going on. Then she closed her eyes and kissed him back. His tongue was in her mouth and his hand was on her breast, his thumb rubbing against her hard nipple. Her shirt was still damp and cold from when he threw her in the pond earlier, and his hand was so warm and strong. His other hand rubbed her bare side, his thumb barely grazing the underside of her breast. His hair was tied back with a thin strip of leather. She tugged on one end and his hair fell loose down to his shoulders. She raked her fingers through it like she'd imagined so many times, and she really was in heaven.

And then Eric thought, loud and clear, and definitely in English. "Oh my god. She feels so good. Shit. I want her so much. What if everyone finds out?"

Sookie froze. She was sure her heart did too, right before it smashed into a million pieces. She pulled her face away from him and slapped his cheek, hard. "Fuck you."

"Shit, Sookie…"

There were tears standing in her eyes, but she only sounded mad as hell. "What, Eric? You're sorry you don't want anyone to know you felt up Crazy Sookie and liked it? Again, Fuck you."

"Sookie, please. I'm sorry."

"I'd love to hear it, Eric. Please. You're sorry what?"

He wouldn't meet her eyes. And she saw it clear as crystal in his head anyhow. Their bare legs were tangled together, after all. He didn't mind sticking up for her. He even loved her, as a friend, at least, and didn't care who knew. But he was absolutely embarrassed to be anything else because everyone thought she was crazy and a freak, and they would maybe think he was too if he went out with her. She took a deep, shaky breath and stood up. She walked out of the shed. She didn't want to touch his car to get her bike, so she kept walking until she made it home. She went into her room and closed the door and didn't come out again until after Gran got home late Saturday night.


	9. September, 1991

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! I really need to do more writing on AM, but this one has just been calling to me, so you're getting another chapter already. Thanks so much to ilovemysteries for the super quick turnaround, as always. She rocks. We will still have 3 AM updates this week, but maybe only 2 next if I don't get my ass in gear.

Eric really hated this. Sookie hadn't spoken to him since the party, and that was over a month ago. Jason was his best friend, the one he hung out with and laughed with and horsed around with and worked out with and talked about girls and sex and football and cars with. But Sookie was the one he talked to about life, about his parents, about books and history and Sweden. About his plans and hopes and dreams. She was the one that gave good, thoughtful advice, and who did nice things for you when you needed cheering up. Fuck, he needed that right now. 

She was only 13 and in eighth grade, and he'd be 17 pretty soon, and was already a junior. He could have pretty much any girl he wanted, and had. Yeah, Sookie was hot. Really hot. With an amazing body and great hair, and a gorgeous smile and already had what were probably the best tits in town. And he was the only one in town to have touched them. At least with her consent. And yes, she was at least as mature as any kid in his class. And was so much more interesting and could hold an actual conversation about important issues. And, ok, she was sweet, and thoughtful, and kind, and wonderful, and funny, and smart…

This really wasn't helping. 

Neither was the jerk off record he seemed determined to beat lately. Pardon the pun. And why did his mind always seem to go to the damn near innocent kiss in the shed (before the shit show), instead of to the many actual fucks and blow jobs he'd thoroughly enjoyed.

When he thought about it, he always concentrated on the age difference. And yeah, it was a big deal. I mean, he was one of the most popular guys in school. And she wasn't even in high school yet!

But, deep down, he knew it was a cop out. Yes, it was a problem; having sex with her would be a misdemeanor now, and a felony in a few months when he turned 17. But, in a small rural town like Bon Temps where the selection was limited? Pretty much everyone did it. There was more shopping around. It was just kind of how it was. There were lots of seniors who dated freshmen. And that's where they would be in a few months. And, as batshit as it sounded, he thought he might even be willing to wait a while. They could just fool around a little without having sex until she was old enough.

But anyway, that wasn't what had made everything go all to hell.

No, the real problem was what a huge shit he was. No excuses. No rationalizations. Just the truth. He was a weak fuck who cared more about what people thought of him than about her feelings. But it was so much worse than that. He knew how hard her life was. He knew how much it sucked for her to be telepathic. He knew the terrible things people said to her, how they treated her, how they felt about her. And he became one of them instead of standing up for her and protecting her. When he saw her mother hurt her when she was so small, he swore that he would always stick up for her. Instead, he was more concerned about what those abusive assholes thought of him than about her. And not only did he fail to protect her, he hurt her so much worse than just about anyone ever had.

Would he be able to say fuck it, and proudly go out with a telepathic middle schooler, who was a social pariah that everybody thought was either insane or mentally retarded? He wanted to say yes. But the knot in his stomach and the feeling of guilt and shame made him doubt it. Why did he have to give a shit? How could he stop?

He had tried to apologize. Over and over again. She hadn't even acknowledged his existence since the party. The Stackhouses were his family, the only one that really meant anything to him since his mother died, and he felt like a part of him was missing. He missed her so much. 

She almost seemed to have reverted back to that little girl with the haunted eyes, looking over her mother's shoulder at him. That image had been burned into his brain. 

She had withdrawn from everyone, not just him. He could tell Mrs. Stackhouse was very worried. Jason was oblivious, and only really noticed when Sookie stopped picking up his slack. Or, more accurately, replace noticed with cared. But Jason was a selfish dick.

She had been so quick and sassy and confident. Not inherently, not about a lot of things. But she almost always had a smartass comment for him, and had no problem swatting him or telling him to go to hell or making a joke at his expense. She had a quick wry humour that just killed him. And she had been letting people touch her, and initiating touch. Hell she had run her fingers through his hair and practically stuck her tongue down his throat. 

Fuck, he wanted her to do it again.

There had been fire in her eyes in the shed, but it had been gone by the next night, and hadn't come back, as far as he could tell. She'd become a punching bag at school again. He'd seen the bruises and the way she flinched if someone moved too quickly when she was nearby. She barely spoke or ate. She'd lost weight. What in the hell had he done to her?

He decided he would make her talk to him. Or at least make her listen to his apology and at least acknowledge it, if she wouldn't forgive him.

***

Sookie got off the bus. She trudged up the driveway, dropped her backpack on the front porch and went straight to the cemetery and sat leaning against her parents' gravestone. She needed to be alone. School was awful. She couldn't concentrate at all anymore, so she couldn't block any thoughts out. It was worse even than when she was little. From the time she got on the bus every morning until she got off in the afternoon, it was a constant wall of noise. Her head pounded constantly. She couldn't hear the teachers, or her brain couldn't focus enough to make sense of them, so she hadn't done any schoolwork so far this year at all. The bell was loud enough to hear over the roar in her head, so she mindlessly moved from class to class, just sitting at her desk in between. The teachers had stopped calling on her back in kindergarten, pretty much, so she was mostly left alone from them. But not the kids. Teenagers are like sharks; they scent when there's blood in the water. She no longer reacted at all when they said nasty things or called her names; she generally didn't even hear it. Some had stopped, but others escalated. She had been tripped and pushed and shoved at first, and now the worst offenders had moved onto hitting and punching, or grabbing her boobs and butt.

She would give anything to just be normal. To know that someday she could find happiness and love, and not have to spend the rest of her life alone. But that dream had crashed and burned the night of the party.

She knew she was grieving. She remembered how it felt, recognized it, but this felt so much worse. And that made her feel so very guilty. Surely it was terribly selfish to grieve more for the loss of the future she so desperately wanted than for her own parents.

She supposed she needed to talk to Eric and Gran. They had been hovering for weeks, but Sookie just hadn't been able to talk about any of it. Or anything else, really. Other than the occasional necessary communication, she just didn't say anything. She couldn't, really. Her throat would close up and she started to cry if she even thought of saying something even slightly personal.

Sookie heard Eric coming in her head before she heard his footsteps rustling the old fallen leaves. She guessed she was going to have to do this now. Shit. Her throat already had a lump in it. She hoped she could keep it together. 

"Sookie, please let me apologize. Please."

"You already have." It was barely above a whisper, but it was something. 

"Yeah, but…"

"I forgive you, Eric. I did a long time ago. It's fine. Whatever." She seemed to be staring at the grass.

"It obviously isn't fine."

She sighed, but didn't say anything else.

"I hate that I hurt you."

She shrugged. This was not going as he'd hoped at all. "Sookie, please look at me."

The frown lines appeared between her eyebrows. She shook her head once.

He was getting exasperated. "Sookie, dammit, talk to me!"

"What do you want me to say?" Finally, a flash of anger. It had to be better than the soul-crushing sadness, right? 

"I want you to tell me what a jerk I am. I want you to punch me and scream at me and get out all of your anger at me, and tell me how I can make it better."

"You can't, Eric. Nobody can."

She glanced up at him. Eric looked confused. She sighed, and looked back down. "Yeah, what you thought hurt me. A lot. I can't lie about that. It was the one thing I was most scared to hear. And I was mad for a few minutes. But…" God, how in the hell was she going to say this? She blew out a big lungful of air to try to ease some of the tightness in her chest. "All I've ever wanted is to have a normal life. I don't think I'd ever want to risk giving this curse to anyone else, so maybe not kids, but love. A family. Happiness. But I hear the worst of everyone. Every ugly thought. Deep dark secrets nobody should ever know. Plus every terrible thing that everyone thinks about me. And the stupid, petty, and dirty ones, too. Touch makes it so much worse. I thought it was impossible. That I would have no choice but to always be the weird crazy girl who was always alone. That, as miserable as I was, there was no hope that it would ever get better, because it never had.

"Then you came along. Not only were you kind and polite and the cutest boy I'd ever seen, you treated me like a human being. And, on top of all that, all of your thoughts were in Swedish, and I couldn't understand one thing. I could hold your hand or give you a hug, and it didn't hurt me at all. I thought that maybe I could have a normal life, if I could spend it with someone like you. And I pinned all of my hopes and dreams on it.

"But, of course, it was all a lie. I was fooling myself all along. I thought that if I believed I could be normal, it would actually make me normal. I thought that if I couldn't read your thoughts when you were 11, it would stay that way forever. I thought that if I didn't know your thoughts, they could never hurt me. 

"I'm not mad at you, Eric. I kind of wish I'd never met you. If I hadn't, I wouldn't know what I'd lost. But I'm not mad."

She never once looked up, so she didn't see the tears in his eyes. "Sookie…"

"Please leave, Eric. I had a really bad day and I need to be alone. Please just go."

He didn't say another word, but he left her be and walked back to the house. He sat on the porch swing and put his head in his hands, with his elbows resting on his knees. Adele came out and sat next to him, handing him a glass of lemonade. 

"Is anyone ever going to tell me what happened when I was in Houston?"

Eric chuckled wryly, and then sighed. "No, I can't imagine you'll ever get the whole story. But the gist of it is that Hadley convinced Sookie that I liked her. She set it up so that we would be alone together. I kissed her, but I'm a huge jerk and she heard something in my head that hurt her very badly. I have apologized a million times, but…" He shrugged with one shoulder, and then finally met her eyes. "I'll understand if you want me to leave, Mrs. Stackhouse."

"Dare I ask what she overheard?"

He looked down again. "That I hoped nobody would find out."

"Oh, no."

"Yeah."

"And why did you kiss her? You know how she feels about you. You know how old she is."

He met her eyes again. "Because she's amazing."

"Eric, she's too young."

"I know."

She smiled at him sadly. "I don't want you to leave, Eric. Thank you for telling me, and for being honest. Sometimes you just can't help what you think in the moment, and I can tell how sorry you are. But I hope you think long and hard about your priorities."

"Believe me, Mrs. Stackhouse, I have. I haven't thought about much else since."

"She'll forgive you eventually, Eric. She can't seem to hold a grudge. I suppose, if she did, she'd run out of people awfully quick."

"She said that she has forgiven me."

"She talked to you?"

"Yeah. She said a lot actually. I ruined her life. I've crushed her hopes and dreams. She only liked me because she couldn't understand my thoughts, but now she can. She wishes she had never met me."

Adele snorted. "And now I guess it's your turn to feel sorry for yourself."

He looked up at her angrily, but then deflated when he saw the softness in her eyes, despite the grin that bordered on sardonic. "You know very well she likes you for more than that, Eric."

He sighed. "I know."

"Well, I'm glad that she got it off her chest, anyhow. I don't know what I'm going to do if she doesn't turn around soon. Are you staying for supper?"

"Yes, please."

"You're a good boy, Eric, and we all love you very much. You're always welcome in my house." She patted his knee, got up, and went inside.

He drank his lemonade, rinsed out the glass inside in the kitchen sink, and went up to Jason's room to hang out. He resolved to try to start thinking in Swedish again.


	10. September, 1992

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hadn't done anything on this in over a week, so it was time. Sorry! :P One more chapter after this before Eric goes off to university. Things should really start picking up in Chapter 13. :D Thank you so much to ilovemysteries for being so awesome.

Eric was at Sookie and Jason's old house. It was after practice on the Thursday before the Homecoming game. He was beat, but he had dropped Jason and Hoyt off at home, and come here by himself. He didn't really know why.

He hadn't been here since Mrs. Stackhouse had found out about the party weeks after the event, and made them all come and clean up. All except Sookie, of course, although she had offered anyway. Of course. Mrs. Stackhouse didn't let her, though. She had even insisted that Hadley come from Monroe to help, and drove her straight back home again after, so Sookie wouldn't have to see her. Hadley had taken off again shortly after and hadn't been back, as far as he had heard.

Eric jumped up and grabbed the branch of the sycamore that Sookie's mother had pulled her off of, shortly after he'd moved to Bon Temps. He pulled himself up and sat on it, leaning against the trunk. He felt it with his hand before he saw it - SS + EN, in a heart. Carved into the branch he was sitting on. Still perfectly legible 6 years later. He traced the letters with his finger. Fuck.

He knew Sookie hadn't been in the tree since that day. Her arm had still been broken when her parents were killed, and she just didn't come back here much after that. Not much cause to and too many bad memories. And even more now, thanks to him. He wondered if she had been tracing the letters that day like he was now.

Sookie was in high school now. He saw her sometimes, scuttling through the halls, always with books clasped in front of her chest, a backpack with the straps let out so it covered her ass on her back, and her head down. She even said hi if he said it first. He saw her at Jason's, too, of course, and she was always pleasant. But distant. So distant. She wasn't quite so broken now, but she seemed to hold everyone at arm's length.

He jumped down out of the tree and got the key from under the mat and went into the shed. He sat on the couch and put his head in his hands. He was still fucked up about it a year later. Not as much as Sookie, though. He still had a life, at least.

Fuck it. He locked the shed, got into his car, and drove to the Stackhouse place.

Sookie was sitting on the porch swing, reading and sipping a glass of sweet tea. When she saw who was coming she went inside, yelled up to Jason, and went into her room and closed the door. Gran was at Aunt Linda's. Linda wasn't doing well, and Gran had been trying to get her to move in with them for months. Linda wouldn't leave the house, scared that Hadley would come back to find the place locked and empty. Gran had been staying there most of the time lately. Sookie had begged Gran to let her drop out of school and take care of Linda full time, but Adele wouldn't hear of it.

Jason came down and met Eric at the door.

"Hey, man. What's up? Come on in."

"Actually, I'm kind of here to see Sookie."

Jason sighed. "Go on and try, but I don't think you're gonna get anywheres. She hid in her room as soon as she saw you comin'."

"Shit."

"Yeah. C'mon upstairs when you're done."

Eric knocked on Sookie's bedroom door. She opened it, looking almost suspicious. She didn't invite him in.

"Hey, Eric. What's up?"

"Uh. I was wondering if you would go to the dance with me tomorrow night after the game."

She looked at him for a long time. "I'm sorry, but I don't think so," and started closing the door.

"Sookie, please. Why not?"

She sighed. "People will think you're either doing it to be funny or doing it to be nice. I'd rather not be the butt of a bunch of jokes or the poor retarded kid going to the Homecoming dance with the handsome popular co-captain. I don't really want to be the star of a heartwarming news story."

"You know it wouldn't be anything like that."

"I know it would. And I thought you were going with Holly Cleary, anyhow."

He looked confused. "Where did you hear that?"

Sookie rolled her eyes. "From Holly. And Danielle."

He shrugged. "Nope. I sure as hell didn't ask her. And if she asked me, I didn't hear about it."

"Well, I'm sure she'd say yes if you asked."

"Dammit, Sookie, I don't want to go with her. I want to go with you."

"What if people laugh at you?"

"I don't give a fuck."

"What if people laugh at me?"

"I'll kick their asses. I'm ready for this."

"I'm sorry, Eric, but I'm not. Nothing has changed. I can still hear your thoughts." She put her hand on his wrist. "You really want me to say yes. I'm flattered. I really am. But, I'm sorry. It would hurt me way too much to have you and lose you. I'm done."

"You're swearing off relationships at 14? Forever?"

She shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, it's impossible."

"I've applied to Uppsala University. In Sweden. I'm sure I'll get in. My grades are very good and Far knows some people." He shrugged. "I'm going to go."

"Oh. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too. I already do. But I will be in Sweden. Speaking Swedish."

"Please don't tell me you're doing this for me. I'm a 14 year old crazy girl, Eric. Don't base your whole future on that. And even if I don't understand your thoughts after you go away for a few years, they'll just be in English again a few years after you come back. It's hopeless, Eric. I'm broken."

"No, it isn't just because of you. It's one of the best Universities in the world, and my father and grandparents have all been pushing me to go to school there anyway. And, Sookie, don't talk like that. You're not crazy. You're not broken."

"Yes, I am. Can you guarantee me that you will never ever think anything that will hurt me? Not even say, but think?"

He sighed. "No, of course not."

"And should I just be hurt all the time? Or mad? Should I blame you every time you think something that will hurt me, or piss me off, knowing that I can't help but hear it when we're touching? And you can't really help but think it? Do you think any relationship could survive that? It is hopeless, Eric. It wouldn't be fair to either one of us. I've spent the last year coming to terms with it. It's fine. I'll find… something… worthwhile to do with my life. But it's going to be alone. There's no help for it."

"Then we can just go as friends."

She sighed. "Would it be worth it? All of the shit you'd get for it, just to go as a friend?"

"Yes, of course it would be. Our friendship is so much more important to me than those assholes' opinions. I miss it. I miss you."

She finally smiled at him. "Thank you. But I… I don't know that I'm up to hearing what everyone thinks. Or all the shit I'll get from the jealous girls after. What they think is always so much worse than what they say. And I have nothing to wear, and no money or time to get anything."

"Please, Sookie? You could wear a paper bag, for all I care."

"How about we just be friends again and not go to the dance." She sighed. "I miss you, too."

"Are you sure? I really would love it if you would go with me." He took her hand and showed her.

She half smiled at him. "How about if I cheer for you at the game and give you a congratulatory hug afterwards before the dance."

"What if we lose?"

"Then a better luck next time hug?"

"I guess if that's the best deal I'm going to get."

She hugged him then, and she clung to him a little, although he noticed that she made sure not to touch his bare skin anywhere.

"Will you drive with us to school now instead of taking the bus? You'll have to bus home, at least until after football…"

"Yeah, Eric. That would be great. But you get to break it to Jason."

"Sounds good." He kissed her cheek quickly, while reciting his numbers in Swedish, and then went up to Jason's room.

"Hey, how'd it go?"

"Not too bad, actually. She's going to start driving to school with us."

"Aw, shit." But Jason didn't really mind.

Sookie drove to school with the guys the next morning, and it was such an improvement over the bus. And the boys looked so handsome in their shirts and ties for game day. Even the rest of the school day wasn't terrible. She got dressed for the game in Jason's old jersey and jeans, and put her hair up in pigtails with orange and black scrunchies. Gran came, and she even convinced Linda to come, and Sookie sat with them in the bleachers. Jason was crowned Homecoming King and DeeAnne was Homecoming Queen. Sookie was surprised it wasn't Eric, but the boys liked Jason better because he wasn't so uppity (read smart) and a lot of the girls did because he had slept with so many of them, although he was also disliked by a bunch for the same reason. He'd broken a lot of hearts in Bon Temps.

The Tigers won the game and, true to her word, Sookie hugged Eric in congratulations on the field after the game. She looked really cute, and Eric wanted to kiss her, but he respected her wishes and didn't.

Sookie went back home and was making up her bed on the couch when Eric came to the door. Linda was going to be spending the night in Sookie's bed.

"Hey, Eric. How come you aren't at the dance?" He was wearing his shirt and tie from earlier that morning with his jeans. He'd added a navy suit jacket. His hair was loose, and Sookie had never seen him look so handsome.

"Not really into it. The girl I wanted to dance with wasn't there. Can you come outside for a minute?"

"Sure, I guess so."

Eric had his CD player on the porch. He ran his hand through his hair and said, "This is probably corny as hell, but will you dance with me?"

He hit the play button and November Rain by Guns N Roses started to play. She bit her lip, but nodded. She put her hands on his shoulders and her head against his chest. He was so much taller than her - 6'2" and still growing - a fact that burned Jason who hadn't grown a bit since before he'd turned 16. Eric held her close to him and they danced.

Eric tried to will her to look up at him, but her head stayed against his chest for the whole song. It was probably for the best. If she had looked up, he would have kissed her, and she'd made it clear that she didn't want anything more than his friendship. He did kiss the top of her head when the song ended, but she stepped back out of his arms before she looked up at him. She had to clear her throat before she could thank him. She kissed his cheek, he grabbed his stereo and waved at Mrs. Stackhouse and Mrs. Delahoussaye, who were unapologetically watching them raptly through the window. Definitely a good thing she hadn't looked up. He climbed into his car and drove home.

The only thing Sookie was sure about that night was that she was more confused than ever.


	11. June, 1993

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday everyone! Eric is all graduated and off to Sweden. They grow up so fast. :'( Seven years' worth in about six weeks, as a matter of fact. :P
> 
> Thanks to ilovemysteries for putting up with me spamming her all the damn time. :P

Everything was about to change. Eric's bags were packed and he was flying to Stockholm in the morning. He was going to spend the summer traveling through Europe with his cousin, Magnus, and then would be starting university in Uppsala in the fall.

He and Jason had graduated the week before, and they'd mostly been inseparable since. Inseparable and drunk. Jason had moved into his parents' old house the morning he turned 18, and the all-weekend-long parties of the school year had turned into the neverending kegger as soon as exams were over. Other kids came and went, but Dawn, Eric and DeeAnne, and fifth wheel Hoyt had basically just moved in.

He wasn't going to spend his senior year pining over a freshman, so he had moved on shortly after Homecoming. He had been with DeeAnne since Christmas, and they'd had a good time. He wasn't as into DeeAnne as she was into him, though, and part of him was glad that they were going to get some major distance.

DeeAnne had cried like crazy before he left her to come home that night. Far was driving him to the airport in Shreveport in the morning. He had stopped by Sookie's to say goodbye to her and Mrs. Stackhouse, but Sookie wouldn't come out of her room. Mrs Stackhouse had told him that Sookie was at Tara's, but he wasn't convinced.

He hated leaving without seeing Sookie. They had been a little friendlier the rest of the school year, but she had definitely kept her distance. And then after Jason moved out in January, he hadn't seen her much at all, except occasionally in the halls at school. He had offered to keep picking her up in the mornings, but she had declined. But she was always friendly when he saw her, and he always got a hug after a game and on his graduation day.

Part of him had wanted to be angry at her at first. Hell, part of him hoped it would hurt her to see him with DeeAnne. Until it happened and he saw the heartbreak in her eyes. She wasn't doing this to hurt him, or for any nefarious or selfish reason at all. She was doing it because she didn't really have any choice. And he hated that it hurt her. It was another reason that he was glad to be going so far away. Eventually, she would be able to move on, too. If really not to someone else, at least on from him. She wouldn't have it rubbed in her face all the time, at least.

He knew she was in love with him. That she had been ever since she was a little girl, if that was even possible. And, hell, he was in love with her, too. He had no idea how long he had been or how it had happened, he just had realized it one day a couple of years ago, a few months after the episode in the shed. He just tried to ignore it as much as possible. But it's not like he was going to be moving back to Bon Temps after University and Med School, anyway. With an ocean between them, they were going to drift apart.

He heard a rustling noise and then a knock on his window. It was all the more unexpected since his bedroom was on the second floor. He got out of bed and pulled on a pair of shorts and opened it up.

"Sookie? What the fuck?"

He pulled the screen out of the window and offered her a hand in. She was hanging from the trellis, her hands fragrant with honeysuckle.

She climbed in the window and then stuck her hands in the pockets of her cutoffs and leaned against his desk. She puffed out her cheeks and blew a big lungful of air out.

"Hi."

"Uh, hi, Sookie. It's two in the morning."

She winced. "Sorry. Were you asleep?"

"No, actually I wasn't. I'm glad you came. I wanted to say goodbye in person."

"Yeah. I was… " She sighed. "I was too big a chicken earlier. I didn't want to see you. I thought it would hurt too much. But then Gran smacked some sense into me, so here I am."

"I'm sure your Gran didn't tell you to sneak in my window at two AM."

She smiled. "Well, no, but she should know me well enough by now to know what I would do if she got her point across."

Even though he was shirtless in gym shorts and she was just in cutoffs and a bikini top, she hugged him tight around his waist and held him for a long time.

He didn't try to shield his thoughts. It didn't even occur to him. He just held her, closing his eyes as he smelled the familiar scent of her shampoo.

"I'm going to miss you so much."

"Me too."

"I hate that everything is changing. Who's gonna gang up on Jason with me now?"

"Hoyt?"

"Geez, Eric. Have you met Hoyt?"

He laughed. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

She pulled back and looked at him, and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. She had done it to him hundreds of times before, including on his first day of school in Bon Temps on the bus, when he had sat with her.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She leaned into it, and then rose up on her toes and kissed him, long but chastely, on the lips. "Write me, Ok?"

He smiled. "Ok."

"I've already started bragging about my hot Swedish pen pal."

"Oh, have you?"

"Yeah. He's a pretty big dork, but I like him a lot."

She started climbing back out the window.

"Sookie, you can use the door."

"Nah. This is a lot cooler. Be safe. I'll miss you." She bit her lip and then climbed down and ran over and kissed him again. Not so chastely this time, and her hands were in his hair and her tongue was stroking his. His hands were cupping her face, and she moved her hands down until she had two handfuls of ass, and squeezed. She pulled away, said, "My pen pal has the world's greatest ass, too." and climbed out the window. He had no idea where in the hell this confident sexy Sookie had come from, but he didn't want her to leave.

Sookie climbed down and ran across the street where Tara was waiting for her. "How'd it go, Sook?"

"I stuck my tongue down his throat and grabbed his ass."

Tara laughed until she could hardly stand up. "Oh my God. I think I would have paid to see that. Wait til I tell Lafayette!"

"Tara! You are not going to tell anybody!"

"I'm gonna take out a full page ad. Goody two shoes Sookie Stackhouse smoked a joint, climbed a trellis into a boy's bedroom, and then french kissed him and squeezed his butt!"

"Ssshhhh!"

They got on their bikes and started pedaling toward Sookie's house. They were going to have to sneak in, since they had snuck out.

Adele heard them creeping in the back door, whispering and giggling, but turned over and smiled. She had been worried that they were out so late alone, but they came right back, and Adele had known exactly where they were going. She wouldn't have had any trouble calling Bud in the middle of the night to embarrass the dickens right out of them if they hadn't been back by 3:30, either.

In her mind, she said, "Good night, Sookie. I'm glad you're home safe. You're grounded for the rest of the week."

Sookie smiled. It had been totally worth it.


	12. Letters Abroad

September 19, 1993

Dear Sookie,

Hey! How was your summer? Mine was really great. I have been enjoying being in Europe again. My cousin Magnus and I visited 16 countries, including Sweden. We hit Norway, Finland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, France, Spain, Portugal, England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. I don't think I missed any. I have lots of pictures and I can't wait to show you some day. I may even have one or two of the world's greatest ass. Ha ha. I hope your sophomore year is going well. University is way different than high school. It's weird speaking Swedish all the time again, too! Tell Mrs. Stackhouse I said hi and that I would kill someone for some of her fried chicken and biscuits. Or yours, too.

Miss you,

Eric

October 6, 1993

Dear Swedish Pen Pal,

Hey! Thanks so much for the letter, and all of the postcards. I have them all pinned up on my bulletin board. Gran was really impressed by the Colosseum, especially.

Everything is going Ok here. Jason and Dawn broke up a couple of months ago and now he's seeing DeeAnne. Sorry! (Ok. Maybe not really sorry!) He got a job on the Parish road crew. He really hated roadkill duty, but fortunately he's moved on to filling potholes. He said the stench of turned over nutria was killing his sex life. Poor Jason.

School sucks, but I'm doing Ok. The Tigers are 0-5 so far this year. Pretty terrible without the (not so) secret weapons, Stackhouse and Northman.

Miss you!

Sookie

November 15, 1993

Dear Sookie,

Hey. How are you? I'm doing great. School is going well and I'm really enjoying it. I'm playing hockey now and am looking forward to REAL football in Spring. I'm also looking forward to skiing very soon. I had forgotten how much I love the snow! I never got to throw one snowball at you or even stuff a big handful of snow down your back. No fair!

Out of all of the people I have written to, why am I not surprised that you're the only one to write back? Of course, I knew you would be an excellent pen pal.

My dad and his girlfriend eloped. Apparently, Far knocked her up. Can you believe it? I can tell he isn't the least bit thrilled. Looks good on him.

I hope that everything is good. I really miss you.

Love,

Eric

December 25, 1993,

It's Christmas! I know I just sent you a letter and gift a couple of weeks ago, but I just wanted to send you a quick note today, anyway. Jason and Aunt Linda both spent the night last night so they would be here bright and early for breakfast and presents. Linda is doing real well and is still in remission. Still no word from Hadley. Oh well.

I am full to the top with turkey dinner and Gran's pecan pie. I ate an extra piece for you. Oink.

I got your gift, and I absolutely love the mittens. They're super cute and so warm! Gran loved the homemade lingonberry jam, too. We had some with breakfast this morning.

Anyway, Eric, I just was thinking about you a lot and felt the need to write. You were really missed this year.

Your Louisiana Pen Pal,

Sookie

January 25, 1994

Dear Sookie,

Happy New Year! I really missed being there for Christmas, too. Far and Julie came to Sweden for Christmas, and we all stayed at my grandparents'. Farfar and Mormor didn't like her at all, and liked her brats even less. It was a nightmare! They even went home a few days early. I almost felt bad for them.

I have been having a blast. I go skiing every chance I get. I'm pretty sure all of this skiing and skating has been doing great things to my ass. Unfortunately the famous ass judge, Sookie Stackhouse, is nowhere to be found. I'm pretty sure I could get upgraded to universe's greatest ass if she were here to have a look.

Love,

Eric

(Owner of possibly the universe's greatest ass)

February 14, 1994

Dear Universe's Biggest Ass,

That was the championship you were talking about, right? I mean, we all knew that one, Eric. I didn't need a picture to give you that award.

I've obviously never been skiing. It sounds like fun. It's actually kind of cool, though. I sound so classy when I brag about my European friend who is gallivanting all over the place, skiing and staying in hostels. People will start thinking I'm interesting.

It's Valentine's Day. I'm getting ready to go out for steak and lobster with my latest boy toy. Actually, Gran and I are going to watch chick flicks and eat brownies.

Everything is going pretty well. I miss you, though.

Love,

Sookie

May 30, 1994

Dear Sookie,

Hey! It was great to hear your voice last night! I'm glad I was able to catch you. Working around a 7 hour time difference can be a bitch. It was great talking to Jason and Hoyt and Mrs. Stackhouse, but I was really glad that I got to talk to you.

As I said, Magnus and I will be taking off early next week, so I'll be incommunicado for a while, but of course the letters will keep if you mail them. I'll just read them when we get back around the end of August. I'll be sending you postcards from my travels again, so be on the lookout.

And I can't believe in a few weeks you'll be 16 and a junior! You're growing up, kid.

Love,

Eric

July 1, 1994,

Dear Eric!

It's my birthday today! Sweet sixteen and never been kissed. Whoops! I guess maybe not. Haha!

Tara and Lafayette came over for the night. Gran bought us a pizza and then went to Aunt Linda's for the weekend. Lafayette brought over a couple bottles of wine, and I might be just a teeny little bit tipsy. We are just watching TV and talking about boys. Your name might or might not have come up!

I know you won't read this until August or September, but I hope you're having a really great time. I miss you a lot. A whole lot. I would say don't do anything I wouldn't do, but Lafayette says that would be cruel. Haha.

Love and misses,

Sookie!

October 15 1994,

Dear Sookie,

School is kicking my ass this year! I am actually having to work instead of spending most of my time playing. No fun! I'm doing pretty well, though.

How is everyone doing there? I wish I could have seen Jason's face when Danielle told him she thought she was pregnant! I'm glad for her sake it was a false alarm. And Jason's, too, I guess.

I'm glad things are going well for you. I really do miss you and think about you a lot. All of you. Say hi to Jason and your grandmother for me.

Love,

Eric

December 24, 1994

Dear Eric,

Hey! I saw your father and step-mother and step-brats and little brother today. The baby is so sweet! He has the biggest, drooliest smile you've ever seen. He looks just like you, poor little thing.

I'm just kidding. He is absolutely adorable and I almost wanted to snatch him away. Your dad actually looked really happy. And he bragged about you something terrible.

We just got home from the Christmas Eve service, and I was just feeling very full of love and wanted to say I'm really glad to have you in my life as a friend again. You mean a lot to me, Eric.

Lots of love,

Sookie

January 8, 1995

Dear Sookie,

You mean a lot to me, too. I kind of expected us to grow further apart after I moved away, but I actually feel closer to you now than I have since… Well, you know since when. I look forward to your letters and have all of the pictures you've sent tacked up in my dorm room. All of the guys are jealous of my hot American pen pal. I told them they would have to get their own, though. I'm not sharing.

Miss you,

Eric

March 1, 1995

Dear Eric,

Tara had it out with her mom and got kicked out. Gran said that Tara could stay as long as she likes, so Tara is now living in Jason's old room. Jason is pissed, if you can believe that. It's not like he doesn't have a whole house to himself. Oh well. Jason is being selfish. What a surprise!

Not much new is going on here. I'm playing softball again this spring, but my elbow still bothers me sometimes.

I really wish we didn't live so far apart. I would do just about anything for an Eric hug right about now. I miss you a lot. Thanks for the picture. You really do look pretty spectacular in your soccer… Forgive me! FOOTBALL uniform.

Miss you so much,

Sookie

April 3, 1995,

Dear Sookie,

I would do just about anything for one of your hugs, too. Especially that last one. What do you call that? I'm pretty sure it had butt and tongue in the title. Wow. That made it sound even dirtier than the reality! Sweet.

I am almost done with school for another year! I'm pretty sure I did ok. I'm not really sure I want to be a doctor after all, but I don't really want to go there with Far.

Really, though, I think about that kiss a lot. I think about you a lot. I hope you think about me, too.

Love,

Eric

May 10, 1995

Dear Eric,

Ugh. I've tried to write this letter a hundred times, and I haven't been able to do it yet. So let's hope a hundred and one is the magic number.

What are we doing, Eric? Of course I think about you all the time. And that kiss, too. I've always thought about you all the time, though. For more than half of my life now.

I mean, yeah, I can't do that thing I do (you know what I mean) when we're not in the same country. But we're also not in the same country! Are we just saying this stuff because it's safe because we doubly can't be together now?

But, really, yes. I think about you a lot, too. I just wish you didn't mess me up so much.

Everyone says hi.

Confusedly yours,

Sookie

June 1, 1995

Dear Sookie,

I'm sorry I messed you up again. I'm really good at that. Anyhow, I'm sending you something for your birthday. I don't think it will make it on time, but I'm pretty sure it should get there by July 7. I'm going away for the summer again soon, but I will read everything you send as soon as I get back.

Your,

Eric


	13. July 7, 1995

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have finally made it! This is where we've been headed since Eric moved to town. And I am so excited. :P I really really hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> Thanks so much to ilovemysteries for her wonderful work. She's so awesome. And thank you to the moon for being full on July 12, 1995. And thank you to the Babylonians who made July 7 a Friday and July 11 a Tuesday. And if I'm wrong about any of that, I do this for free. :P

"Sookie! The mailman is here!"

Sookie ran out the door yelling, "Thanks Gran!" and sprinted for the mailbox at the end of the driveway.

"Sorry, Sookie. Nothing from Sweden today. Just this."

"Oh, well. Thanks."

Sookie carried the electric bill to the kitchen and set it on the phone table.

"It might come tomorrow or Monday."

"Yeah, I guess."

Adele kissed Sookie's cheek. She and Linda were headed to Prairie Grove, Arkansas for a trip with the Descendants of the Glorious Dead. "You have a good weekend. Tara and Lafayette are welcome to stay, but don't let them talk you into any parties."

"I won't, Gran. You and Aunt Linda have a good time."

"We will. I love you. Be careful. I'll see you sometime on Tuesday."

Gran went out and got into the car and pulled out of the driveway. Sookie was finally blissfully alone. At least for a little while. Tara had already talked Sookie into having a party, and she and Lafayette were coming over around six. Tara had assured her that it wouldn't get out of hand, but Sookie wasn't holding her breath. Tara had agreed to move back in with her mother the week before, but she had been planning the party for over a month, since the moment they had found out about the DGD trip, and wasn't planning on backing out now.

Sookie took her boombox outside and laid in the sun, singing along with the radio. Around 5:15 she decided it was time to get her butt in gear.

She got a shower and blow dried her hair and decided she would go ahead and get dressed up a little. She would almost certainly spend most of the night in her room - to keep horny or nosy kids out of it, as much as for anything else - but she still wanted to look nice. She put on a new sundress that really set off her tan. She went ahead and put makeup on, completely unsurprised that Tara and Lafayette were running late. The other kids wouldn't start showing up until 7 or so and, as long as Sookie didn't have to be the welcoming committee, she didn't really care.

She was just putting on some lip gloss when there was a knock at the door. Tara and Lafayette wouldn't knock, especially with Gran's car gone.

She ran out and threw open the door. Eric was standing there on the porch, his hair in a ponytail, looking a little taller, a lot more grown up, and absolutely gorgeous. "Happy birthday. A little late, but by the seventh, just like I said."

Sookie screamed and jumped into his arms. He laughed and spun her around and kissed her cheek. "Oh my God, Eric! How are you here? How long? How come?"

He laughed again. "That's a lot of hows. Let's see… An airplane. A month. Your birthday."

"A month! Holy cow! Where are you staying? With your Dad? Where's your car? Did you _walk_?

"No. I haven't decided if I want to see him, really. I thought I'd probably crash with Jason, if he doesn't mind. And I got a cab from the airport." He shrugged. He'd figure something out, and could always go to Far's, if worse came to worse. He knew he would likely wind up there in a few days anyhow. To meet his baby brother, at least.

Sookie took a deep breath and said, "Gran is gone for the weekend. She's not coming back until Tuesday. Tara and Lafayette are staying tonight, but you could stay, too. And until Tuesday, if you wanted. They're having a party in about an hour, but I was just going to hang out in my room all night, anyway."

"If Jason finds out I'm here, he and Hoyt will be all over us. I kind of wanted you to myself for a little while."

"Go hide in Gran's room. I'll come in there with you once people start showing up. If people look through my panty drawer or screw in my bed, it won't be the end of the world, I guess. And I want you to myself for a little while, too. Tara and Lafayette won't come in here."

And the way she looked up at him through her eyelashes when she said that made Eric's cock stand up and pay attention. She was even more beautiful than she had been when he left. She was 17 now and looked far more like a woman than a girl.

He went into Adele's bedroom and sat in the slipper chair and waited for Sookie. A few minutes later, she slipped in the door and locked it, and then sat down on his lap. "Hi." She bit her lip. Did she know what signals she was sending?

"Hi. You're friendly."

"Well, I missed you." She leaned forward and kissed him. Wow. Really friendly. But he wasn't complaining. She swung her leg over his and was straddling his lap and kissing him stupid. Really not complaining, but… He pulled away. "Sookie, what's changed?"

"Um. You've moved away. You're only back for a month."

"So? You can still read my mind, right?"

She grinned, "A whole lot is in Swedish."

She leaned forward and kissed him again. She pulled the elastic out of his hair and dug her fingers in, and started to grind on his lap. Was he dreaming? He pulled away again.

"Sookie…"

"Geez, Eric. You're going to give me a complex."

"I'm sorry. We went from this will never work to you grinding on my dick. I just wanted a little clarification."

She started counting off on her fingers.

"This will still never work, not long term, but you're only here for a month and then you're going back to Europe.

"You're mostly thinking in Swedish and I'm just stoned enough to let me not care too much when you're not, unless you think something really stupid again.

"I have wanted you forever. I won't get to keep you, but we can enjoy ourselves in the meantime.

"I'm legal now.

"You being gone already hurts. I'll hate it when you leave whether we do this or not.

"And if I want to ever lose my virginity, this might be my only shot. And I always wanted it to be with you. There. That's six clarifications."

Shit. Is this what he wanted? Practicality? It was hard to argue with her logic, though. And hadn't he been prepared to pretty much make some of the same arguments, even if he had expected it to take all month, if it had worked at all?

"Wait a second. You were inviting me to sleep here. With you. Until Tuesday?"

"Um. Yeah?"

And then his hands were in her hair and he was kissing her. His mind just wouldn't let this go, though, and he pulled away again. "Don't you want to take things slow? Hiding in your grandmother's bedroom isn't very romantic for your first time."

She rolled her eyes. "Eric, Gran is gone until Tuesday. It is now Friday. You flew across an entire ocean to wish me a happy birthday as a surprise and coincidentally arrived on the first night of her trip. How is that not romantic? Plus, you are a complete secret from everyone but me, even though the house is full of people. All of the fun of sneaking around with none of the danger. It couldn't be more perfect, you big dummy. Now will you please kiss me?"

He opened his mouth again to ask if she was sure that she wasn't doing this because he expected it, or because she felt she should since he came all this way, and then decided that that was probably a really terrible idea. And, wait, stoned? Sookie?

But she felt so good and smelled so good and she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He kissed her again, and when his brain tried to fire off another reason why he should stop, he just ignored it and kept kissing.

If she didn't stop grinding on him, though, he was going to cum in his pants.

"Can we lie down?"

"Sure."

She climbed off his lap and held her hand out to pull him up. Then she threaded her fingers into the back of his hair and pulled his mouth down to hers. God, she was being so bossy. Which was kind of totally Sookie. She had always been bossy with him. It was such a huge turn on. Still kissing him, she ran her hands down his back and then up under his shirt, over his abs and chest.

She pulled away and turned around, sweeping her hair to the side, and peeked over her shoulder. "Unzip me?"

Fuck. He might cum in his pants anyway. He unzipped her dress, and she let it fall to the floor and turned around. She was wearing panties and a bra - every bit as much fabric as one of her skimpy little bikinis. But it felt so much different. She herded him against the bed and pushed his chest until he sat down. She stood between his legs and kissed him again.

When she pulled back, she said, "After you sent that letter, I just over thought like crazy. That's when I sent my letter. But then I thought about what would happen if you did come home for a visit, like for Christmas or something. What if you did and your thoughts were hard to read again? What would I do? I considered all of my options. Would I keep you at arm's length? Nope. It didn't feel right. Not after everything we've been through. Would I fall head over heels and then pine away forever? No, that wasn't going to work, either. Been there, done that. It sucked. Play hard to get? Why? That's stupid. What if I just jumped your bones? What if we had a wonderful visit, together, and then went back to being pen pals again? It felt right. Nothing has felt this right between us, ever. I definitely felt better after that kiss before you went away. I know you're not sitting at home every night in Sweden, and I don't even think about it.

"I want you. So bad. It's right. It's the next logical step. I'm not trying not to lose you or doing this because I think it's what you want. I'm doing it because waiting would just waste time that we could spend together. As soon as word gets out, I'm going to have to share you with half the town. Getting you all to myself for the whole first night, at least, is more than I could have hoped for. And I want you to be mine for the whole month.

"Now please make love to me, Eric." She reached back and unhooked her bra and let it fall to the floor. She had the most beautiful breasts that he had ever seen, and he didn't think he could have stopped his hands from going to them if he had wanted to. Which he absolutely didn't. He stroked her nipples with his thumbs and kissed her deeply. His brain wasn't even offering excuses anymore. She pulled away again. "You know, Eric, I'm feeling a little underdressed."

He pulled his shirt over his head and stood long enough to pull down his jeans. He kept his boxer briefs on so they would be even and sat back down. She stepped up against him again and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him some more. She was right. This was the next logical step. There was no need to waste any time. They both knew exactly what they wanted - each other. He just wished he had her conviction that they would easily just go back to being pen pals and nothing more. But this did feel absolutely right, and there was no point in worrying about it right then. It was already too late to go back.

His hands were back on her breasts, and he wanted so much to taste them. He kissed down her neck to her chest and sucked her nipple into his mouth. Her hands were in his hair. Her hands had been in his hair so many times through the years. It was one of her things. One of their things.

Eric moved his mouth to the other breast. God, they were so perfect.

"Eric. Let's lie down."

She leaned away from him and pulled off her panties. God damn. She was just… perfection. Eric stood up again and pulled off his underwear. He kissed Sookie and then climbed onto the bed.

She looked at him and, for the first time that night, she didn't look completely confident and in control. His size intimidated her very much.

"I'll be gentle, lover. I promise."

She climbed into bed beside him, and laid down in his arms. He leaned down and kissed her. God, he had imagined this so many times, but the reality was so much softer, smelled so much better, was so much fucking sweeter than he ever could have dreamed. He kissed her neck and down to her breasts again. He couldn't help stopping and paying attention to both, with his mouth and his fingers. He licked and kissed down past her belly until he was between her legs. So beautiful. He was going to need to prepare her well, and it was hardly going to be a hardship.

"Relax, Sookie. I'm going to really enjoy this, and I'll make sure you do, too. And keep being bossy. It'll work best for both of us if I know what you like and what you don't. And it's really fucking hot."

She laughed a little, but she did relax, and opened her legs for him. He rubbed up the insides of her thighs until he could easily spread her open with his thumbs. He kissed and sucked softly on her clit, and then circled it with his tongue. He started with one finger and eased into her. So soft and silky and wet.

Her hands were in his hair again, and she was making breathy sounds that were driving him crazy. He stretched her slowly and gently with his fingers as he worshipped her with his tongue. When he sucked her clit softly again, her breathing started to hitch, and she was biting her lip. God, she looked so sexy.

"Oh, God, Eric. Right there." Her voice was breathy and went straight to his dick. He curled his fingers a little and said, "Pinch your nipples, Sookie. Does it feel good? God, you look and taste incredible."

He sucked on her clit again, and her hands were on her tits, and she came all over his face. Oh, fuck. So responsive. So fucking hot. She was breathing heavily, trying to recover, when she reached for him. He didn't know if she would want to kiss him right away after, but she pulled him to her and they kissed for a long time. "Eric, I want you."

So fucking bossy. He reached down and grabbed his jeans off the floor and pulled his wallet out of the back pocket and fished out the condom. He hoped he had prepared her enough. He was so hard he could probably hammer a nail. He rolled the condom on and kissed her again before slowly, a little at a time, easing himself into her. God, she was so tight.

Sookie stroked his face and ran her fingers through his hair and tried to stay relaxed. Eric's thoughts, almost completely in Swedish, were like an old friend. He was kissing her neck, and it felt so incredible. He was fully inside her now, and it burned and stung a little, but everything else was so wonderful that it was Ok. And when he started to move, the pain began to ease and everything was just absolutely perfect. She started moving, too. He pulled his mouth away from her throat and he looked into her eyes.

_Vacker. Beautiful. Jag älskar dig. I love you._

She smiled and touched his face again. "I love you, too, Eric."

He knew he wasn't going to last long. She was so incredibly tight and felt so amazing. And he hadn't been with anyone for months. All he'd been able to think about was Sookie. Her breath was starting to hitch again, though, and her chest and throat were blushed pink. He reached down and circled her clit with his thumb and he cried out as they finished together.

He kissed her softly, and then rolled over and she molded herself to his side, lying in his arms.

"Wow."

He laughed. "I guess I'll take that to mean that it was Ok?" He kissed her head.

"False modesty, Eric? Sweden has changed you."

He laughed and kissed her head again, and then went to the bathroom to throw the condom in the toilet and get cleaned up a bit.

Tara knocked on the door. "Hey, Sook? You Ok in there? I thought I heard yelling."

Sookie tried to smother a giggle. "I'm fine. I just stubbed my toe."

Eric snorted in the bathroom, but Sookie ignored him. "I'll be out in a few minutes, Tara, but I'm feeling kind of gross, so I think I'm just going to crash in here tonight right after. You or Lafayette can take my room."

Eric came out of the bathroom, leaned over, and kissed her. God, he was gorgeous. And she had watched that butt all the way to the bathroom. It was even better naked.

He had brought a warm washcloth and a towel out and he cleaned Sookie up and then gave her another kiss.

She said, "I need something to drink after that. Do you want something?"

"Won't that look suspicious?"

"Nope. I'll drink one there and visit for a few minutes and then refill before I come back."

"Sure. Whatever you're having is fine. I don't mind sharing."

She threw her sundress back on, sans bra and panties, and blew him a kiss as she slid out the door.

Holy shit, that was amazing. He'd been with a handful of virgins, but it had never been like that. Hell, it hadn't been like that with anyone. Talk about worth the wait. Worth fucking everything. And she'd enjoyed it, too. A lot.

This summer was going to be amazing. And they just wouldn't think about the end for a while. No point in dwelling over it and ruining the time they had together.

A few minutes later, Sookie came back in and locked the door behind her. She set a glass of lemonade and a box of condoms on the bedside table, pulled off her dress, and slid into his arms. His eyebrows went up.

"Again?"

She shrugged, smiling and biting her lip, and then said, "I figured it was a good idea to be prepared."

They laid in each other's arms and talked and kissed for hours. But then the kisses were getting longer and more heated and her hands were in his hair and her legs were wrapped around his waist. His cock was rubbing against her, skin on skin. And, fuck, it felt amazing, but he knew he had to wear a condom. He grabbed one out of the box and rolled it on. They had been Jason's, he was sure, and fuck, it was tight. But it was better than nothing.

He sat up against the headboard and patted his lap.

"You can control how deep. And I can suck on your nipples."

She laughed and kissed him, and then straddled his legs and slid down onto him like a pro. Holy shit. She started a little hesitantly, but soon she was rotating her hips and grinding her clit on his pubic bone with every swivel. He sucked on her nipples and then moved up to bite and suck on her neck.

The blush was creeping up her chest and her breathing was getting ragged. He was close, too. He jutted his hips up slowly, pushing his pubic bone harder against her clit, and a minute or two later, she came with breathy sighs that pushed him over the edge right after her.

"Fuck, Sookie, you're incredible."

She wrapped him in a huge hug and kissed his cheek, still straddling his lap. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I do love you, Eric."

"I love you, too."

"Tara just asked if I'm still awake. I'm gonna go up and talk to her for a few minutes, if you don't mind. She's upset about something."

"That's Ok. I kind of wanted to visit with William Erasmus Compton, for old time's sake."

"Everyone's gone or asleep but Tara, and she's upstairs in Jason's old room. Lafayette's in my bed. The coast is clear."

Sookie wrinkled her nose at the mess, but mostly it was just cans and bottles and wrappers and dirty cups and glasses and bowls full of chip crumbs and a couple of spills. And nothing looked broken. The three of them could get it taken care of in an hour or two, easily. Four of them if she and Eric got busted. She was pretty sure she could trust Tara and Lafayette to keep their mouths shut for a day or two, anyway.

Jason had come by with Maudette Pickens, and Tara was feeling both jealous and down on herself. As much as it drove her crazy that Tara liked Jason, as mean as he could be, she could certainly empathize. Tara had been in love with Jason almost as long as she'd been in love with Eric.

Sookie was really glad they had stayed hidden, if Jason had been there. She hoped he wouldn't rat her out to Gran about the party. Or about Eric staying if he found out. After all the times she'd covered for him, he had a shitty habit of getting her in trouble every chance he could get. He didn't think it was fair that he was in trouble with Gran far more than she was when they both lived there. Nevermind that Jason was the only one of them who had parties and went out drinking and having sex all the damn time. Even though he'd lived on his own for years, he would still tattle like a little boy.

Tara was pretty drunk and had to run down to the bathroom, so Sookie reached her mind out to find Eric while she waited. He was in the graveyard, but he felt… further. It didn't really make any sense. It was like the signal was weak. She couldn't get a grip on his thoughts at all, just the feel of him. His Ericness. Probably she could only recognize it because of how familiar it was to her.

One of the windows in the attic storage room next to Jason's old bedroom looked out over Sweet Home, and she walked over to it. The moon was nearly full and she could see them clearly. Eric was with a man. Being kissed by him, it looked like. He was a lot shorter and smaller than Eric, and obviously weighed a lot less, but he was cradling him like he weighed nothing. He was older, a middle-aged man, maybe, with very dark hair and a large nose. The man looked up, and she could see that Eric was unconscious. There was blood on his neck, and the man had blood on his fangs. Holy shit, he was a vampire!

The vampire was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, nothing distinctive, but the man himself was very striking. Despite the scars on his face or because of them, she couldn't really tell. And his skin seemed to glow. It just made everything that much clearer. She felt for his brain and it was just a void, like a hole where his brain should have been. She felt desperately for Eric's brain again, and… it was barely there.

The vampire bit into his wrist and started giving Eric his blood. She and Eric had gone through a vampire phase when she had been in seventh grade, and they had read the Anne Rice books, Dracula, I Am Legend, The Delicate Dependency, 'Salems Lot, and a few others. She would get one out of the library and he would buy it and they would read them at the same time so they could talk about them together. They'd also rented a bunch of vampire movies and watched them with Jason and Hoyt on the weekends after Gran went to sleep.

The vampire was killing Eric and was making him a vampire, too.

It was like she was glued to the floor. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she couldn't scream. Couldn't run. Couldn't go and save him. Even if she hadn't been too late. Eric's brain faded away. She wouldn't even have made it to the porch in time.

Old Luc Bellefleur was laid to rest just yesterday. She watched as the vampire pulled the freshly-laid sod up and quickly dug a deep hole in the loose soil with his hands. He laid Eric down in the hole and somehow got himself in there and buried up completely. He did it all so quickly that she hadn't even really been able to make it out in the moonlight. He'd even managed to sort of get the sod back in place.

Eric was going to be a vampire. And, according to what they'd read and seen, he was going to be in thrall to the other one.

She needed to talk to the kids that had been to the party to see what she could find out about the vampire, if anyone had seen him. She needed to find out everything she could about vampires. She needed to pull herself together and do everything she could to help Eric.

********

Appius Livius Ocella had checked in with the Sheriff in Shreveport and was just on his way to visit Malcolm, Liam, and Diane in Monroe when he picked up a hitchhiker. The boy was young and fit and handsome, just his type, and he was on his way to a party in Bon Temps that his girlfriend had invited him to. Could he take him as far as Ruston? Appius decided spur of the moment to attend, offered to drive him the whole way, and glamoured himself an invitation. And a blow job for the road.

He had been looking for a new companion since his child Alexei had met an unfortunate end two decades before. This boy was nice, but not quite right. While he doubted he would find what he was looking for in Buttfuck, Louisiana, sometimes life (or death) could surprise you.

He had a wonderful time with a very enthusiastic black boy - in a graveyard, ironically enough - but he hadn't found anything permanent. However, there was a delectable smell hanging around the house, and he wanted to know who it belonged to.

It was getting close to dawn and almost everyone had left. He was about to head to Monroe for the day and come back the next evening to try to find the owner of the smell when a beautiful tall boy in his late teens or early twenties left the house and was heading straight toward him. He was exquisite - six four or five, long blond hair, broad shoulders, athletic build. He looked almost like a Viking warrior transported through time to the present. And, as he got closer, he discovered that he was the source of that wonderful smell. It looked like Buttfuck was the place he'd been searching for after all.

When the boy reached the tree where Appius was hidden, Appius glamoured him into compliance, and they walked together to the cemetery.

Appius regretted that there really wasn't time for sex tonight, but they would have decades together soon enough. Perhaps centuries.

He was only slightly disappointed to find that the wonderful scent didn't belong to the boy, but was only from transference. It likely wouldn't have carried over anyhow. The boy was magnificent, though. And he was his.

The anticipation coiled in his belly. He cradled the boy in his arms, surrounded by dirt. His child. They would have such fun together. Well, eventually. He would certainly have fun enough for the both of them until then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also thank you to ilovemysteries for talking me down from having Eric run into the REAL Bill Compton in the cemetery. She was absolutely correct that Bill absolutely can't be Eric's maker. See? She is doing important work here. :P


	14. July 8-10, 1995

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to hear some good news? I have one chapter each of AM and YnB ready for next week, and will hopefully have more ready soon. So, at least one update, probably more. And, next chapter? Newborn Eric. Squee! I kind of love him. No Eric this chapter, but I hope it's OK without him. :P

Sookie stood in the attic, staring out the window at where Eric was buried until she felt Tara fall asleep. She felt incredibly numb. She snuck downstairs and went back to Gran's room. She needed to make a plan. Hell, she needed to make a bunch of them.

She had no idea how long it took to become a vampire. If she remembered correctly, different books and movies all said different things. She thought the Shreveport library was open on Saturdays, so she would go there first thing. There was an internet cafe, too, if she needed more time to research. But she needed to be back in time for dark.

Hopefully she could get Jason or Hoyt to give her a drive. Then she saw Eric's wallet on the floor. She grabbed it and opened it up. No, she would leave Jason and Hoyt out of it and take a cab. She didn't need to deal with anyone's questions. Nobody could know. Not Jason, not Gran, not anyone. If they didn't call for the men in white coats to come and take her away, they would try to keep her from him. They would call the cops who would kill both vampires. Kill her Eric. At the very least, they would take him away from her. No, she needed to do this all on her own. 

She finally did fall asleep, but woke up early feeling like death. And then she cringed at her choice of words. 

Tara and Lafayette were still asleep, so Sookie started to clean on her own. Nobody who went to the party would be up yet, and the library didn't open until noon, according to the message when she called. She had to do something, or she was going to go crazy.

Lafayette wandered out around 930 and made a beeline for the coffee pot. He poured in a healthy slug of gin. 

"Oh, gross, Laff."

"Sooks. This morning, I needs it. And it's all we got left."

"What happened?"

"I found me a live one last night. But by the feel of my derriere, he was maybe even a bit too rough for me. I can hardly remember a thing. I must have been way more fucked up than I thought!"

She peered in his head, and there were big holes in his memory of the night before. But not like the gaps that come from drinking and drugs; those are just hard to get hold of, but they're there. Sort of fuzzy and swirled around with other ones. These ones were just gone. Like the memory had been burned away or excised.

She placed her hand on his arm and said, "Are you Ok, Lafayette? Do you want to talk about it?"

And she listened in as hard as she could. It was the vampire alright. And she could sort of see fragments of memory as Lafayette tried to piece together what had happened. 

He was very rough. Lafayette had started out enjoying it, but judging by the bits and pieces that she could see, the vampire seemed to enjoy Lafayette's pain. A lot. She didn't see any bite marks, at least.

"No, Sooks. I think I just want to go home." 

She gave him a big hug and he kissed her cheek and left. She noticed that he walked his bike rather than sitting on it. 

So, she needed to get rid of the vampire that had turned Eric. He was not going to rape Eric indefinitely and get off on his pain. Not if she had anything to say about it.

She got everything cleaned up and got a shower and called for a taxi. Tara still wasn't up, so Sookie left a note telling her to lock up when she left. She grabbed her key, along with Eric's wallet and her backpack with a notebook and some pens, and waited on the porch swing for the cab. Tara was still sleeping heavily, and she was glad that she didn't have to talk much so far today. She thought she had pulled off normal with Lafayette, but she didn't know how long it would last.

The cab ride to Shreveport cost $28, but Eric had a couple of hundred in there, at least, so that was no big deal. She was sure she would need to buy supplies, too. Thank goodness Eric had gotten American cash!

The library wasn't going to open for another fifteen minutes, so Sookie went to Southern Maid for doughnuts and a coffee. She figured she could use the energy. 

She was the first one in the door besides the librarian, and asked if she could get some help with finding folklore about vampires for a research project for extra credit. The librarian pointed her in the right direction. Sookie found several books that looked promising, and carried them to a table. She started reading. 

Another teen had come in while she was in the stacks. He was sitting at one of the computers, and he was typing a lot and had even laughed out loud once or twice. She peeked in his head and he was using a program called mIRC to chat with other people. Lafayette had told her about IRC; There were different channels where you could go and talk about different subjects with people from everywhere. Lafayette visited some really raunchy ones, and some of them were way out there. She wondered if anyone would have real information about vampires. She could talk to someone and get direct answers rather than scanning through hundreds of pages in these books. And she could always check the books out and take them home with her if it took a long time. 

She asked the librarian to help her and soon she was looking at the different channels and the librarian was back behind her desk. She set her handle as Vampsgirl, because she wanted something that would keep her anonymous and raise attention. She scrolled down until she found the channel #vampires and joined. She was glad that it was daytime everywhere in that part of the world; she didn't need anyone coming to look for her. 

There was a script on the screen welcoming her to the channel and giving her a list of commands. She decided to open up friendly and then get straight to the point. 

<Vampsgirl>Hey everyone! Nice to meet you!

<countdickula>hEy VaMpSgIrL!

<BattyBrad>a/s/l

<damnedqueen>Hey vg!

<Renfieldwashere>Yo

**FangedPrincess wishes Vampsgirl a very cold dead welcome.**

<Eurotrash> Bienvenue!

She knew from Lafayette that asl meant age/sex/location. She also knew to lie her butt off. She thought that she might even enjoy this under very different circumstances.

<VampsGirl>Thanks! 23/F/Atlanta, GA. Does anyone know anything about real vampires? I have a few questions that I really need answers to. 

<countdickula>We're all vampires here.

<damnedqueen> LOL

<BattyBrad>RU Hot?

<FangedPrincess> I will PM you.

A window popped up with a message from Fanged Princess. Well, here goes nothing.

13:56 FangedPrincess What do you need to know?

13:57 VampsGirl Everything I can.

13:57 FangedPrincess Why?

She saw no sense in beating around the bush. 

13:59 VampsGirl I saw my boyfriend get turned last night. He is buried in the ground with the vampire. The vampire really hurt my other friend when they had sex, and then erased his memory. I need to know how long it will take for him to turn into a vampire. I need to know how to protect myself and my boyfriend from the other vampire. I need to know their weaknesses. I need to know everything I need to do to take care of him.

14:03 FangedPrincess You're serious.

14:04 VampsGirl Unfortunately.

After not getting a reply for a minute or two, Sookie thought FangedPrincess was done talking to her, so she scrolled back up through the main chat to see what she had missed. But a few minutes later, she got an answer.

14:17 FangedPrincess Look, you need to just stay away. He's gone. Pretend he never existed. Yeah, his maker sounds shitty, but it is what it is. Let him go.

14:19 VampsGirl I can't do that.

14:23 FangedPrincess *sigh*

14:25 FangedPrincess Your boyfriend will need blood. More than just what's in you. Like from a blood bank. Four or five pints. More if you can get it. He won't need quite as much later, but the first night is bad. I don't know how you'll be able to pull that off. If you're around, he will likely kill you accidentally.

14:32 FangedPrincess Vampires can glamour you. It's hypnotism, pretty much. They can make you do whatever they want. Your boyfriend will be able to glamour people to let him feed. He'll likely glamour you, too. *You are going to get yourself killed.* But silver weakens them and burns them. A wooden stake through the heart, sunlight, burning, and decapitation will kill them. Their bodies will turn to ash after they die. Don't use Holy water or garlic or crosses. They don't do shit. They need an invitation to get in.

14:36 FangedPrincess If he was turned last night, he will rise Monday night.

14:39 VampsGirl Can a vampire make me pregnant?

14:42 FangedPrincess No. :) Not possible. LOL. At least there's that.

14:45 Vampsgirl Will he remember me? Will he be himself?

14:47 FangedPrincess Yes and no. He'll remember you. He'll still be him. But he will be different, too. He isn't a human any more.

14:49 VampsGirl So he needs blood and a place to stay away from sunlight. Anything else?

14:51 FangedPrincess Sex. Lots and lots of sex. Newborns are basically insatiable. It's a primary drive, pretty much. Instinct. He won't have much control, and he might really hurt you. Or worse. And, listen. His blood will heal you if you get injured. You need to be drained almost to the point of death and then given a lot to replace it to get turned, but a little can save your life. Good luck, VampsGirl. You're going to need it.

Sookie closed the program down. She hoped the information was accurate, but she felt much better for having it. It felt to her like the person was being honest. She had a gut feeling and really had no choice but to trust it. She sat down with the books and made notes until it was time for the library to close.

She caught a cab back to Bon Temps and went straight to bed when she got home. She hoped that FangedPrincess had been right about the timeframe. Sookie slept all the way through the night and until 7:30 the next morning. 

The hardware store didn't open until noon on Sunday, so she decided to go to church. Lord knows she needed some help. 

After church, Sookie went to the hardware store with the dimensions all written down, and asked for help building a gun safe into her closet floor. Old Gerard Bodehouse, who owned the store, drew up a sketch with her dimensions, and wrote down step by step instructions for how to go about building it. He gave her a few tips and helped her come up with a few alterations to make it that much better. He recommended a reciprocating saw to rip out the floor, and Sookie was glad Jason had bought Gran a Sawzall for Christmas, even though it was so he could borrow it when he liked. Sookie remembered seeing it in the shed a few days before. Gran also had a cordless drill and a toolkit, so she thought she'd be set. 

She bought everything she needed, and Mr. Bodehouse even cut all of the lumber to length for her, and labeled the pieces in pencil. He said he'd have someone deliver it all later on in the afternoon. 

Sookie went home, made herself eat a sandwich and drink some sweet tea, and then got to work on ripping out the closet floor. 

Thank goodness she had the house to herself. She had no idea how she would have been able to deal with all of this if Tara still lived there. Or Jason, for that matter. But the biggest boon was having Gran out of town. 

The delivery came, and Sookie followed Mr. Bodehouse's detailed plan and had it all in place by midnight. She was exhausted, but she was done. She was glad she had taken woodshop all through middle school. She put the unopened padlock and hasp out in the garden shed. Gran might need them for something later.

She decided to climb in the little cubby and closed the lid. It was completely dark, and she could even turn over easily. Good. It wasn't as comfortable as her bed, of course, but he would be safe and close. She put an extra blanket and pillow inside, and laid an old rug from the attic over top. She stuck some old shoes and a beach umbrella on it, and it just looked like a normal closet, pretty much.

The next morning, Sookie was a nervous wreck. She was so scared about sunset. Would Eric be Ok? Would he still love her? Would he be mad that she didn't protect him? Would she survive?

Sookie called another cab and got dressed in a baggy pair of sweats, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap, and put on a hoodie. She was going to roast, but she would deal with it. She grabbed the soft-sided cooler Gran had for picnics, put in a couple of freezer packs, and stuffed it into her backpack. When the taxi arrived, they headed to the hospital in Clarice. 

Sookie followed the signs and walked the halls until she found the blood issue room, and sat down in a waiting room just around the corner to wait. She made sure to keep her head down the whole way. 

This part of the hospital wasn't terribly busy, thank goodness. Soon, a nurse punched the code into the door and went in to grab some blood to take to the OR. After the nurse left, Sookie counted to 200, made sure her hair was tucked into the back of her jacket, put the hood up, and pulled the neck of her shirt up over her nose. She checked for any brains coming, went around the corner, and quickly punched in the code - 5641. She grabbed some O+s and As, thinking they would be the easiest to replace, plus one or two each of everything else except O-, and shoved about a dozen and a half bags quickly into the cooler. She darted out of the room and into the nearest bathroom.

Her heart was pounding and she was bathed in sweat. It took her at least five minutes to stop shaking. She crammed the full cooler back into her backpack, along with the ball cap and hoodie, and casually walked out of the hospital. She went to a diner across the street and ordered pie and coffee to eat while she waited for the cab she had asked the waitress to call for her. She left a $10 bill on the table to cover the food and a tip.

She spent the rest of the day hoping and praying and preparing. She could do this. For the both of them.

*****

Sookie sat leaned up against her Mama and Daddy's headstone. William Erasmus Compton was just a ways over. And Luc Bellefleur was just beyond that. 

All of her supplies were over by old Bill Compton, ready for her. But she was going to spend this little bit of time watching the sunset with her Mama and her Daddy first.

She had written a letter to Gran. She hoped that she would be able to burn it before Gran got home from Arkansas. But, if not, she had told Gran how much she loved her, and how thankful she was to have been raised by her, and then what had happened to Eric, and what she guessed might have happened to her. She was almost positive that the vampire couldn't get in without an invitation, but she decided to write a copy and hide it where Gran would find it, but the Vampire wouldn't - in the flour canister. He would have no need to look in there, and would stop looking after finding the one on the table.

The sky was turning a beautiful pink and red and orange, and Sookie felt calm and almost hopeful. She took a deep breath and felt stronger. She gathered up her things and leaned against the Compton gravestone and waited for dark.

She sat cross-legged with the 12 gauge shotgun laid across her lap. Three sharpened stakes were lined carefully to her right. There was a red and white Coleman cooler off to the left next to Gran's silver teapot. The ground over Luc Bellefleur's grave, just a few feet away, started to move.

Sookie picked up the Benelli and snugged it right up against her shoulder. She cocked it and pointed it just above the mound and waited. Two white hands shot up from the dirt. One knocked the sod even more askew. A moment later the vampire's head and chest emerged, smeared in the damp earth. Sookie took a deep breath and fired. She pumped the shotgun, lowered her aim just a titch, and fired again. She had caught him exactly where she'd wanted, with the centre of the blast radius at his nose on the first shot, and what would have been the hollow of his throat on the second. Good thing old Jessie Compton was deaf as a stump. She took another deep breath and willed herself to stop shaking.

With most of his body still buried underground, his torso was sticking straight up. She set the rifle down, grabbed a stake, and walked over to him. That night was the full moon, so she saw it clearly, but her brain still had a hard time processing it. 

He was completely gone above the shoulders, and a mangled mess below that. Then the body started to flake apart. 

Sookie stuck the stake in her back pocket. She moved the cooler and teapot closer, and grabbed the shovel she'd leaned against a tree. She loosened the dirt away from the vampire and pulled him out. It was unpleasant - he was starting to fall apart - but Sookie didn't want Eric to have more to deal with than he needed to. She grabbed him under the arms and dragged him off to the side. They would throw what was left of him back in the hole before they filled it in. She was very glad that his arms didn't fall off or anything like that. He was coated in gore, and that was bad enough, thank you very much. He was about her height and didn't seem to weigh that much more, thankfully.

Her mind filled in that he was actually quite a bit shorter than her now that he didn't have a head, and she was surprised to actually chuckle. And then she decided that she might also be in shock a little bit.

She thought about digging Eric out, but she didn't want to hit him with the shovel, or climb in the grave with him. Especially not that. 

She set the cooler right next to Luc Bellefleur's grave. And Eric's. She set the shovel and shotgun at the edge of the cemetery, ready to be carried back to the house. She sat down in her spot on her Mama and Daddy's grave, Gran's silver teapot on her lap and two stakes she hoped to God she wouldn't have to use beside her. Plus the one in her pocket. She leaned back against the headstone and waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FP is not Pam. :( I know. It was the "You're serious," right? My bad. But, sadly, Pam was dead for the day in Shreveport. She will show up! Eventually. Besides, she would NEVER spill this much shit about vamps pre-rev to some anonymous human on the internet. Le sigh. Also, I met my husband on IRC about two months before this chapter happened. Going back in time was kinda fun. :P


	15. July 10, 1995

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday! It's Newborn Eric time. Thanks to ilovemysteries for her beta greatness. :)

The ground was swelling and moving again. Sookie sat up straighter and hugged the teapot to her chest. It didn't provide much comfort, but it was better than nothing. And it might just save her life. 

Eric's fingers poked out of the ground and soon he was pulling himself out of his grave. He lifted his head and seemed to scent the air. He turned his head until he was looking straight into her eyes. "Sookie…"

She started to explain. To tell him that there was blood in the cooler he needed to drink. That he was a vampire. That she had killed his maker, as FangedPrincess had called him. But before she could even open her mouth, she was in his arms. And he was  _ smelling _ her throat.

“Eric, please don’t hurt me.”

But it was too late. His fangs were in her neck and he was drinking and drinking. The teapot had been knocked out of her arms and was lying on the ground a few feet away. She tried to struggle, but although Eric had always been much stronger than her, she had at least been able to make an effort. She couldn’t even budge him now. She could barely move at all.

“Eric, please…” 

Sookie was starting to get light-headed, and there were spots dancing in her field of vision. “Please. I think I’m dying, Eric.”

It was barely a whisper, but it finally got his attention, and he stopped. She was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. “There’s more blood in the cooler. Lots and lots.”

“Shit, Sookie, are you OK? What the fuck?”

She was cradled against his chest. Her hands felt cold, and her nose and lips felt numb, but she was starting to feel a little bit better. Or that she wasn’t at risk of disappearing, at least.

“I saw it. Through the window in the attic. I was talking to Tara and not listening for you. I’m so sorry. The vampire. He was biting you, and then he gave you his blood, and…” She started to drift off. 

“Sookie! Sookie, oh fuck.” He shook her, much harder than he meant to, and she opened her eyes and blinked slowly.

“Give me a little of your blood. Not much. I don’t want to be a vampire too. Just a swallow.”

He looked around for something to cut with.

“Use your teeth. Lord knows they’re sharp enough.” she reached up and touched her neck.

He bit into his wrist, and she looked up into his eyes as she drank. Eric moaned. He had hurt her, nearly killed her, but he wanted her so bad it hurt. He felt like he’d go crazy if he couldn’t have her. And he was terrified of hurting her again. She took no more than a mouthful, and then stopped. 

“Are you Ok?”

“Yeah. I feel a little better already. Still shaky, but Ok. I’m so sorry, Eric. I didn’t see you in time to stop it.”

“Sookie, it isn’t your fault. You just would have gotten yourself killed.” He kissed her forehead. Then her nose. Then his pupils dilated and he started sniffing her neck again. She slapped him as hard as she could. Which wasn't very hard, but it got his attention.

“I’m real sorry, Eric, but you need to go over to that cooler and drink until you can get yourself under control. If it tastes bad cold, we can go and warm it up at the house. But you need to keep your fangs away from me until you calm down.”

He set her down gently against her parents’ gravestone and walked over to the cooler and opened it up.

“Where did you get all of this?”

“Oh. I stole it from the hospital in Clarice. I wore a disguise, sort of. Hopefully I won’t get caught.”

“Jesus, Sookie. “

“Well, it’s a damn good thing I did, Eric Northman. You nearly drained me dry!”

“Fuck. I’m sorry, Sookie. So sorry. It was like I couldn’t stop.”

“I know. It was really scary. I thought you were gonna kill me.”

“Yeah, me too. When you passed out, I nearly lost it."

He picked up one of the bags and wrinkled his nose.

“Go on. Just pretend it’s like a Vampire Capri Sun or something.”

He laughed and then bit into it.

After he'd drained it, she asked, "Is it Ok?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, it tastes fine, I guess. But it's kind of like the difference between your fried chicken and a Hungry Man TV dinner. Sookie, your blood was the most delicious thing I've ever tasted."

"Oh. Maybe just because it was fresh and warm, I guess."

"Maybe, but I don't think so. Your fried chicken tastes almost as good cold." He smiled.

"Ha ha, Eric. Your wrist… It looks like it's healed. FangedPrincess told me that vampire blood heals people. I guess maybe human blood heals vampires, too. Or maybe vampires just heal quickly."

"Who in the fuck is FangedPrincess?"

"Oh. Well, Maybe I should start at the beginning? And then you can tell me what you remember. But keep drinking."

"Yeah, that sounds good, but I don't really remember anything after walking outside.” He bit into another bag.

“I was upstairs talking to Tara about Jason. He took Maudette to the party the other night, and she was upset."

"Maudette Pickens? Was he desperate?"

"Eric! Maudette isn't that bad! Anyway, Tara ran down to the bathroom, so I tried to find your brain. And it was like the signal was really weak. I could hardly feel you at all. So I looked out the window, and you were with a man.

"He looked up and I saw his face and that he'd actually been biting you. Um. He bit into his wrist and fed you his blood. Lots of it. He had to bite a couple of times. Then he dug a hole and put you in it and then climbed in beside you and buried you both. The whole thing took maybe a minute and a half."

"What happened to him? Did he just leave or something?"

Sookie bit her lip. "Uh. He's over there."

She pointed at the pile of clothes and ash he hadn't even noticed partly hidden behind a gravestone.

"What the fuck?" He walked over to take a look and nudged it with the toe of his dirty Chuck Taylor.

She sighed. "Lafayette was with him Friday night, before he… Anyway, he was really rough. Really. He hurt Lafayette pretty bad, and the vampire liked his pain. I couldn't let him do that to you." She looked away.

"Anyway, on Saturday, I went to the library in Shreveport to try to find out all I could about vampires. I talked to someone on the internet, FangedPrincess, and she told me all kinds of things we needed to know. She's the one who told me that you'd be rising tonight, and to have lots of blood on hand.

"Sunday, I went to the hardware store to get supplies and then built a place for you to sleep in my closet. You need to stay away from the sun or else you'll burn up. I made sure it was lightproof, or whatever. You can stay in my room with me when you're awake, or you can go out and sneak back in the window before dawn, and sleep in there during the day. 

"And then today, I went to Clarice and stole the blood. Then I sharpened the stakes and cleaned the shotgun and all of that stuff. And then I came here and waited." She shrugged.

"And killed a vampire. Jesus fucking Christ, Sookie! You could have been killed!"

"You think I don't know that? I even wrote Gran a letter saying goodbye. But I couldn't just abandon you. You would try to help me, right? If you knew someone was going to rape me and hurt me over and over again?"

He would eat them alive. He sighed. "Of course I would. Why didn't you have Jason come and help?"

"Jason's an idiot. If he even believed me, he would make me stay away. He would certainly talk. Nobody can know, Eric. People will hurt you, or worse."

Eric had drunk four of the bags, and felt much more in control of himself. Sookie had risked her life to save him. And she had succeeded. Little Sookie. He was blown away. "How did you kill him?"

"I was scared to stake him because I'd have to get so close. I thought about borrowing Jason's crossbow and making some bolts out of dowels, but if they split or I missed…? I used the Benelli. Shot his head clean off."

"You are fucking amazing. Fuck, I love you."

She smiled a real smile for the first time since he rose. "I love you, too, Eric. Um. The girl I talked to? She said that you would need a lot of sex. Um. Is that something that you want… need... to do?"

"Are you offering?"

"Well, yeah. I guess so. I mean, she made it seem kind of like a have-to. And if you have to, I want it to be with me. But please. Try to be gentle. You’re so strong now.”

He was scooping her up before she'd even seen him move, and she screamed, and then laughed. It sounded almost hysterical.

"Dammit, Eric, cut that out! Give me a little warning! You scared me half to death. Besides, we need to cover him up and fix the sod and gather up all of my stuff before we go back."

He set her back down and dug out the grave a bit. He sort of shuffled Appius's remains into the hole with his feet. He kicked the boots in last, and then buried him, laying the sod on top when he was done. He grabbed the Benelli, the shovel, and the cooler, and ran them to the porch and was back in less than a minute. 

"Jesus, Eric. That's nuts."

He grinned. "I know. I can run so fast and I feel so strong. This is incredible. I can hear everything. Even the stream way back in the woods. I can see you just as well as if it was noon on a sunny day. I can see the veins on the backs of the leaves in the trees. I can smell you. I could smell it all over the house when I was on the porch. You smell incredible - so sweet and bright and perfect. I can smell your hair and your skin and your breath and your pussy, and they all smell different. But they all smell like you. Delicious. I want to taste you all over."

His voice had gone from happy to dreamy to husky and full of need. 

"Eric…"

"Sookie, I need you."

She was in his arms again, lying in the grass. He was kissing her like he needed it to survive. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, caked with dirt, and he had them both off in seconds. He hadn't bothered to put his underwear back on when he'd gone for his walk three nights before. He pulled off her jeans and panties, and smelled all the way up her leg to her centre. He licked once and moaned before going back for more. She tasted so fucking good. Not like her blood, which was… Unh. Better than everything. But sweet and musky and delicious. He moved up and kissed her mouth again, rubbing himself all over her. 

“I can feel you inside me now.” He closed his eyes. “I know where you are. I could feel your location when I was back on the porch. I could find you with my eyes closed. It feels almost like there’s an invisible string connecting me to you. I… I can feel what you feel. You love me. You want me. You're scared of me.”

He looked extremely pleased by all of that. Even the scared part, a little bit.

"How come you're not freaked out about all of this?"

"I don't know. So far it's just awesome. I'm so strong and fast. My senses are so sharp. I feel amazing. You feel amazing."

He was kissing her again.

"I don't have a condom, but I need you now."

"It's Ok. Vampires can't get people pregnant. I made sure to check."

"Fuck, I love you."

"You need to be sweet, Eric. I'm still feeling a little shaky. I don't want you to hurt me. And you can't take any more blood. I don't think my body could take it."

"I know. I'll be as gentle as I can."

Her body felt so hot and alive. He could hear and see and feel the blood flowing under her skin. Almost taste it. He licked her neck, sucked on it, but didn't bite.

He slid into her. She was so warm and wet. He was in sensory overload, but it was glorious. Elation. Euphoria. Ecstasy. It felt almost like the few times he'd done cocaine, mixed with the feeling he'd had when they'd won the State Championship their senior year, all wrapped up in the best sex of his life. Only a million times better. He felt all-powerful. Hell, almost godlike. She wrapped her tongue around one of his fangs and he had to will himself to slow down. 

Eric moved up so his shoulders were higher, near her head, and his cock rubbed against her clit and lips with every stroke. He added a grind and swivel at the end and soon Sookie was moaning and panting his name. He was so fucking close, but he made himself wait until she cried, "Oh my God, Errrrrrrrrric," and they fell over the edge together. 

He chuckled. Then he laughed out loud and couldn't seem to stop. A vampire giggling uncontrollably in a graveyard. It struck Sookie funny, too, even though she was trying to stay offended until she found out why he was laughing at her. She swatted at him. "What?"

"I have been trying to get you to say that again for years. God, I missed it. Next time, can you stomp your foot, too? I'll even pull your pigtail first."

She slapped his shoulder again, harder this time. "You big jerk." But she was laughing, too. He kissed her, long but chastely, and then pecked her nose. He pulled on his filthy clothes, scooped Sookie and her pants and panties up, and carried her back to the house. 

"I… uh… I left my stakes back there. And the teapot. I'll have to carry that, though. It's silver. It will burn you."

"I'll run back for them. I'll carry the teapot in a dishtowel. You need to rest, Sookie." He kissed her forehead.

When he got to the house, he couldn't walk through the door. He frowned.

"Oh! I forgot. Eric Northman, won't you please come in?

The magic allowed him to pass. He wrinkled his forehead, but went inside. "Which bedroom?"

"Mine, I guess? I know the bed is small, but I'll like to know you're nearby."

He laid her down and then inspected the hatch and cubby in the closet.

"You built this?"

"Yeah. I had the dimensions, and Gerard Bodehouse drew out the plans for me. He gave me step by step instructions. It was easy. He even cut everything for me before they delivered it. I told him it was a gun safe. I… I spent most of the money in your wallet. On cabs and lumber and screws and hinges and stuff. I got a couple of coffees, and two doughnuts and a piece of pie, too. I didn't snoop at anything else, and I'll pay you back as soon as I can. I'm really sorry, Eric."

"Jesus, Sookie. You saved my ass. Literally. Fuck. I mean you risked everything for me. I wouldn't give a fuck if you took every cent I owned. Hell, I'd give it to you."

"Better go grab that stuff. There might be a funeral tomorrow. I haven't really been keeping up with the gossip. Don't forget a dish towel. And put all of the blood in the fridge. We can’t let it go to waste. I'll figure out what to do with it tomorrow. Get a bunch more ice packs and hide the cooler in here, I guess."

Eric didn't run this time. He took his time walking back to the graveyard. With his vision the way it was, he had no problem finding the stuff. He scanned the area for anything they'd missed, but he didn't see anything. There was a fair bit of blood spatter, but the chunks had all turned to ash. Eric could smell that it would rain very soon. When the blood was washed away, there would be no evidence that the vampire had been there at all, aside from maybe a spicy dry scent that smelled very similar to Eric himself now. 

Curious, he touched the teapot with his finger, and then snatched it back with a hiss. He watched the burn heal in a second or two. He grabbed the stakes, carefully wrapped the teapot in the towel and carried it back to the kitchen. He felt strangely weak until he set it down on the counter.

He went back into Sookie's room. "Want a cuddle?" Cuddling led to kissing, which led to other things.

She smiled. "Always. Maybe you should grab a shower first, though. You're kind of filthy."

"You should talk, lover. I heard you swearing in that graveyard when that vampire was making sweet sweet love to you."

Sookie laughed. "You dork. Go get cleaned up. I don't think I could stand for that long. Can you check the medicine cabinet in Gran's bathroom first for an iron supplement and B12, maybe? I'm pretty sure she takes them both. They're good for anemia."

He found them and brought her both bottles along with a glass of sweet tea. "Thanks, sweetie. Now, go get a shower, and you might be able to talk me into a very low energy round 2, if you do most of the work. And I don't fall asleep first."

He smiled and kissed her. "You really are amazing, Sookie."

"I know. Now go. And wiggle your butt on the way. It's really cute."

He laughed, but wiggled his butt enticingly. She giggled at him, but he knew she liked it, too.

After his shower and another round of love making, Sookie laid in his arms squeezed into the twin bed with him. Her voice was soft. “I can’t hear you at all anymore. None of your thoughts. It’s like a void where your brain should be now. It was the same with the other vampire.”

“Sookie! That is absolutely amazing! My thoughts are silent to you and you taste like paradise to me. And I have no reason at all to go back to Sweden. It’s not like I can go back to school like this. It's fucking perfect."

Sookie smiled, and snuggled in beside him, but she found it hard to share in Eric’s excitement completely. After all, he had nearly killed her a few hours before. And would they be able to sneak around forever? Or even until she graduated and turned 18 and they could get their own place somehow? Without getting caught? But she knew he was happy, and she had been so worried he'd be devastated. She hoped that, now that they had the first night pretty much behind them, things would calm down. FangedPrincess had said he wouldn't need quite so much blood going forward. Hopefully, he wouldn't get out of control like that again. She kissed his chest and sighed and closed her eyes.

Eric felt the sunrise coming. He slid out from under Sookie, who had fallen asleep an hour before. He had spent the time looking at her and touching her and smelling her. She was his. He caressed her face. "Mine."

He climbed into the cubby she had built for him to protect him. Because she loved him. His. The sun carried him away with a beatific smile on his face.

  
  
  



	16. July 11, 1995

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the middle of the night again in Nova Scotia, and here I am awake, so I guess I'll post early. Yeah yeah yeah, Australia people. I got you. :P And because you guys are all so swell, I finished AM 24, and you'll get that tomorrow. No big cliffhanger to drag through the weekend. But, for now, let's check up on the kids. See how my babies are doing. They seem to have missed that whole blood is sacred memo. Whoops? :P Chapter seventeen is almost done and will likely be up on Friday. So yes, you'll probably end up with six updates again this week, despite what I said. But don't expect it next week! Maybe. Or something.

When Gran got home sometime after 5PM on Tuesday, Sookie had already stripped both beds, washed and dried the sheets and quilts, and had them all put back to rights again. She also washed Eric's filthy clothes and burned her letters to Gran. She had checked the paper, and sunset was at 8:24. A bit too early for Gran to go to bed, but she could claim a headache and go to bed early herself.

She wasn't a big fan of lying to her grandmother, but it wasn't like she'd never done it before. She just hoped they didn't get caught. But she couldn't make Eric hide in the cubby for hours until Gran went to bed. Especially since the nights were getting longer already. Fortunately, he was fast and quiet, and there were a few good places to hide.

She felt a lot better, and had taken the iron supplement and B12 again. She was a long way from 100%, though. She would make Eric wait until tomorrow, at least, before she let him take any more of her blood. And she hoped that he would be able to be more gentle. It had really hurt. It was all healed up today, though. Thank goodness that she'd known about the vampire blood.

She was excited for sunset, but she was also nervous. Mostly, he had just been Eric, but a couple of times he had seemed a little different. A little… more. Like the volume was turned up on his personality, a bit. Not just the good parts, but the not-so-good parts, too. There were a couple of times that he had scared her, and it had felt like part of him had _liked_ that he'd scared her a little bit. Like it had excited him.

She had supper ready and warming in the oven when Gran got home, and Gran told Sookie all about their trip. Linda was feeling poorly again, and they had had to spend a lot more time in the hotel room than they both would have liked. But they had enjoyed the trip anyway, and were glad to have gone.

Sookie lied through her teeth and told Gran that she'd had a very quiet few days. Besides a surprise visit from Eric, the party, losing her virginity, Eric getting turned into a vampire, taking a cab to Shreveport to discuss vampires with strangers on the internet, building a secret coffin into her closet floor, stealing over two gallons of human blood from a local hospital, shooting the head off a vampire with a shotgun, and getting nearly drained by her secret boyfriend who was currently dead under the house? Not much had really happened at all.

Jason and Hoyt stopped by at around 7:30 to say hi to Gran, and to try to hint their way into an invitation for supper the next day. They being Jason, mostly. They were both on their way to the new bar and grill, Merlotte's, that had just opened up. They didn't really care that it was a Tuesday. Hell, Jason could probably pick up a nun on a Sunday. They managed to both scam dinner invitations, as well as a piece each of the pie that she'd pulled out of the freezer earlier that afternoon for dessert.

Sookie was anxious for them to leave before Eric got up. Finally they headed out around 8:15, and Sookie made her excuses and went to bed not five minutes later. She very quietly locked the door and turned her radio on to drown out any noise they might make. She was lying on her stomach on her bed reading a book when Eric started kissing up her leg.

She looked back over her shoulder at him and smiled. "Good evening, Sleepyhead. You OK?"

"Mmmm. Much better now. Although it was kind of weird. It was like I just closed my eyes and then opened them again, and almost 15 hours had passed by. I feel so… lazy."

He started kissing up her leg again. "And horny."

"C'mere. I want a kiss. Then you need to drink. I just warmed up a few pints when Gran was in the bathroom and wrapped them in some towels to stay warm, I hope.

She turned over and Eric froze. He closed his eyes and sniffed all over her shirt, shorts, and neck. And was that a growl? "Jesus, Eric. You're acting like a pig who found a truffle. Cut it out."

"What is this?"

"What is what? They're my clothes. I wear them so I don't get cold or arrested. What the heck has gotten into you?"

"You smell like men. More than one. What in the fuck have you been doing all day?" His eyes almost looked like they were glowing.

She sat up and crossed her arms. There were frown lines between her eyes and her jaw was clenched. "I had the whole neighbourhood over for a gang bang. They all took turns. I let the cute ones go twice. What the hell, Eric? I got a shower and did laundry and changed the beds, and cooked supper for me and Gran, despite feeling exhausted and drained all day. I wonder how that happened? And then Jason and Hoyt came over to bum some pie and an invitation to supper tomorrow night. I gave them a hug before they left, just like you know I always do. Or am I not allowed to hug my own brother and his goofy friend that I've known my whole life anymore?"

"Shit, Sookie. I'm sorry."

"Drink. Maybe your attitude will improve when you're not so hungry." Eric drank the five bags she'd warmed up for him. "Better?"

"Yeah. Thank you. So much. For everything. Do you still want a kiss?"

She hmphed and then blew her hair out of her eyes before she sighed and opened her arms.

He grinned at her. "That was a process. Took you a little while to decide, huh?"

"You'd better hurry up before I change my mind, too."

He sat down on the bed next to her and kissed her gently. "I love you."

"Hmpf. I love you, too."

The blood had made him even hornier, but he was going to have to suck up big time before she was going to fuck him after that. What the hell had gotten into him? He would have ripped someone to pieces if they'd been standing there and smelled like her right then. With his teeth. Literally. Even if it was Hoyt.

She pulled him down, and they just made out for a long time. Her tongue scraped against his fang and he moaned when he tasted the trickle of blood. He remembered how amazing it felt when she was sucking on his wrist. He scraped his own tongue, too, and their blood mingled in their mouths.

He pulled off her t-shirt and shorts and circled her nipple with his tongue. "You really do have the most beautiful breasts." He sucked on one and then the other. "You are so fucking incredible. Can I…? Just a taste? Please? I promise to try to be gentle. But it's so good."

She sighed, and then leaned over and grabbed a silver chain from the nightstand and wrapped it around her hand. "If you're Ok with getting silvered if you take more than a little bit. I'm still feeling weak. Take off your shirt.

"Ok bossy." He grinned at her and undressed.

"I like lover better." She stuck her tongue out at him and laughed. "C'mere. I want another kiss first."

He kissed her again and then sucked her nipple deep into his mouth and, as gently as he could, bit. His cock throbbed with every pull. He could hear the blood roaring through her veins and he was lost.

Blinding pain on the back of his neck. He flinched back and hissed, letting her go. The frown lines were back.

"I said your name three times and shook you best I could. It was like shaking a great big tree trunk. I can't exactly shout with Gran right out there. I'm sorry, but you're going to kill me at this rate, Eric. If you can't get a handle on this, you're going to have to get all your blood somewhere else."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "No. I'm glad you did it. You should have done it sooner, even. I'm sorry I did that. Hissed, or whatever. I didn't even know I could do it. It just sort of happened."

She sighed. "Maybe you should give me some more of yours. It's not as bad as last night, but I'm feeling a little woozy. Doing it while kissing was nice. We can do it while we make love, if you still want to." She put the chain back in the nightstand.

It was more like he _needed_ to. And when she sucked on his tongue after he bit it, it became an imperative.

"Sookie…"

"It's ok, baby. I know."

"I'll be as gentle as I can, but I need you. Now."

She spread her legs wider for him and wrapped them around his hips. He was able to restrain himself enough not to hurt her when he slid inside. He had been so turned on that he came in little more than a minute, but he was still so hard, so he bit his tongue again and just kept right on fucking.

Sookie said, "Roll over. I want to be on top."

He kissed her hard, biting his tongue one last time, while grinding his dick and public bone into her. Then he rolled them over so he was on his back. She sat up and was looking for a rhythm that would get her off. Perfect. He loved that she wasn't shy about taking her own pleasure, or pointing him in the direction of doing it for her. She found what she was looking for, and it was exactly perfect for him, too. He pinched her nipples, and the blush started to move up her chest. The blood just under the skin was mesmerizing, and he reached out and palmed her breasts, touching as much of the skin that was flushed hot with blood as he could. She picked up the pace, going just a little faster, and then squeezed his cock with her pussy as she climaxed. He came so hard he thought he might have lost consciousness for a second. The dreamy smile on Sookie's face when he opened his eyes implied that she felt fucking amazing, too.

"Holy fuck."

"Yeah, that was… I didn't know it could be like that."

"Hell, neither did I."

Sookie laid down and put her head on his chest. "It's strange, not being able to hear your heartbeat. But it doesn't bother me the way I might have thought it would."

He kissed her head. "I'm glad."

"I'm so tired, Eric. I'm sorry, but I need to get some sleep, I think. I'm still feeling pretty weak. If you need to wake me up before dawn, that's Ok. I know it's not your fault. There's more blood in the cooler in the corner behind my bed. You'll have to drink it cold, though. At least until you're positive that Gran's asleep.

"Oh! Maybe we should try that glamour thing later, as long as you promise not to make me do anything I wouldn't want to. I can still trust you, right?"

Considering the circumstances, he supposed he couldn't really blame her for asking. "Yeah. You can trust me, Sookie. I love you. I'm sorry you even felt like you had to ask."

Sookie fell asleep in his arms again, and as he made it a point to stroke and caress her everywhere, he realized that he had covered up the Jason smell and the Hoyt smell with his own scent. And that he liked it.

When he heard Adele snore, he took a few bags of blood out to warm them in the microwave. He drank them quickly; they were hardly worth savoring compared to Sookie. But he really needed to not bite her for a few days. She looked so tired and pale.

He did wake her up after jerking off twice didn't even come close to taking the edge off. She smiled sleepily at him and kissed him and he felt how much she loved him in his blood. He knew she was exhausted, so he was slow and gentle. She fell asleep again soon after, and he felt himself drift off as well. Not into unconsciousness, but into an almost stasis where his body and much of his mind were at rest, but his senses were acutely aware in case of danger.

When he felt the sun's pull, he kissed her and slipped into his hidey hole.


	17. July 12, 1995

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, remember that time, so long ago, that I said I wouldn't update 6 times this week, and probably definitely not next week? Well, this is the last YNB I have done, but I have AM 25, 26, and 27 all done. And think I will likely be able to finish 28, 29, and 30 by Sunday, at the very latest. And then that's it. That's the end. WTAF?!
> 
> I will likely post one a day starting Sunday until it's done. That's your 6 days. If I don't have the last three done by then, I'll post them as they're ready, but I'm kind of chomping at the bit here. I don't really see that happening. *knocks wood* I may slip in a YnB in there as well, or two. :P Also, when AM is marked complete, I'll start posting the next one. I have 4 chapters done and betaed so far. :D It's called Sunshine Eternal, and hopefully you'll dig it. So, around the 7th?
> 
> Anyhow, let's go and check in on the kids. See how they're doing. Probably screwing again. Can't take them anywhere.

Sookie warmed up the last of the blood from the cooler. Only five pints left. She hoped it would be enough. He was always so hungry, and whenever he drank from her, he just went overboard. And she was kind of worried about Gran being in the same house, too. They were going to have to work on his glamour, so he could get donated blood from the hospital or blood bank. Or drink from other people, she supposed. She was so scared that he would hurt someone or get caught, though.

Gran was sitting out on the front porch, enjoying the evening. Sookie snuck past and went into her bedroom and locked the door. Eric was just climbing out of his cubby for the night.

She turned the radio on, on her way by. "Hey, baby. Did you have a good rest?" He was naked and hard and he backed her into the bed. The mattress caught the backs of her knees and she sat down. "Eric… You need to drink first." She had stuck the bags in the soft-sided cooler, and she handed it to him.

He drank them quickly, one after the other, looking heatedly at her the whole time. When the last bag was drained, he threw it all on the floor and put his knee on the bed beside her. He kissed her and pushed her down and was on top of her, kissing her and grinding himself into her.

"Eric. Hey. Good evening. Hello? Aren't you even going to say hi to me?"

He looked into her eyes, "Have sex with me." She felt a weird tingling in her brain. Frown lines between her eyebrows, and she was squinting at him. He knew he was treading on thin ice. But, fuck, he was so horny. "Please. Fuck me now. I need you." That time, it was more than a tingle, and she squinted harder at the pain. Her jaw clenched and she pushed him off of her. He let her.

"What are you doing to me? That hurt, Eric."

Fuck. He didn't even really know. He had just wanted to fuck her so much. Needed to.

"Were you trying to glamour me to have sex with you?"

"Shit, maybe? But not on purpose! I'd never force you if you didn't want to."

She crossed her arms, really frowning at him now. Fuck. "Sookie, I'm so sorry. It's just… I can't even explain. There was nothing when I was human that even compares to it. Maybe air, if air made you feel like you were the king of the universe. I know. I was a huge selfish dick. But, fuck, Sookie, I need it. I need you."

"I'm not just a hole for you to fill. I'm not asking for much, here. Acknowledgment and appreciation is a pretty low bar, Eric. I think I've been pretty accommodating so far."

Shit. "Sookie, I am so grateful for everything. You've been amazing. I'm sorry. Can we start over? Please?"

She blew the hair out of her eyes. "Fine. Hi."

She still sounded pissed, but at least she was talking to him. "Hi." He kissed her softly. "How was your day?"

She shrugged. "It was Ok. Gran is going to Aunt Linda's next week for a couple of nights. Linda has a doctor's appointment, and they're expecting bad news."

Nice. They wouldn't have to be quiet, or stay holed up in her room. He kind of liked having her all to himself, insulated like this, though. Like it was just the two of them in the whole world.

"I'm sorry. What did you do today?"

"Not much. I mowed the lawn. Jason and Hoyt came over for supper. I got a shower. And I've been waiting for you to wake up."

"Did you miss me?"

She smiled. "Yes, Mr. Ego, I did." And she kissed him for a long time. But then she pulled back. "We need to talk about the glamour thing. If you can't do it, you're going to starve. I'm not going to be able to just steal blood all the time. I'll get caught."

Jesus. Did they have to have this conversation now? "We'll try again after. But, please, Sookie? I need you so bad."

His forehead was doing that thing with the wrinkles, and his eyes were so needy and soft and sweet, like a puppy's, and she sighed and smiled and kissed him. There was just no way to resist him.

He felt it when she acquiesced. Thank fuck. He found her emotions so fascinating. He realized that he could focus on so many different things now, all at once. But right then, all he wanted to focus on was her.

But she pulled away again. "Would getting a little taste make it easier for you to stay in control or harder? Like when I scraped my tongue on your fang?"

"Right now, I'm not really hungry at all. Just hungry for you." He kissed her again. "It was a huge turn on, though, and it won't make me lose control and bite you, if that's what you mean. I should give you some of mine, too. You're still so pale. And Sookie Stackhouse is never supposed to look pale in July." He gave her a half smile.

She sat up and pulled off her clothes and laid back down in his arms. Finally. She kissed him again, and dragged her tongue across his fangs. Fuck, she tasted amazing and his dick got even harder. He slid into her and bit his tongue. She sucked on it, scraping hers again in the process, and then the world seemed to drop away from them. So much sensation. He felt like he was cumming endlessly. Sookie had stopped kissing him and was chanting his name under her breath over and over and over again.

When he came back to himself, he felt… whole again. Like there had been an empty space in his chest since he'd risen vampire that he hadn't even noticed until she had filled it back in again. The string connecting him to Sookie felt more like a pipeline now. And she was his and would always be his.

"Eric? What happened?"

"I don't know, but that was incredible."

"Yeah, but… I think I can feel you. But I can't tell what I'm feeling and what you're feeling. Everything is all a jumble. This is almost as bad as being able to read your mind."

"I felt a little like that when I first felt you." He touched his chest. "But now I like being like this. You'll like it, too."

He kissed her again. Her frown lines were back, but she kissed him anyway.

"Let's go again. Can we try biting at the same time? You seem to feel ok after taking my blood. That felt so good, Sookie. I fucking came like a freight train." And he wanted to try it with _teeth._

She sighed. "Baby, I need a break. I get light-headed when I stand up. Gran keeps asking me if I'm Ok. I'm tired all the time. I'll give you blood tomorrow, and maybe we can do that, if you don't mind me having the silver, just in case. But I can't today. We can make love again in a few minutes, though, if you need to."

He knew she was right. But, fuck, he wanted her again. And he wanted **that** again in particular.

"You should have more of my blood, anyway. Please? Bite me? It feels so good. And you really do look pale." He started kissing her jaw and neck.

She was so tired, and kind of sore, but she wrapped her legs around him and he slid into her again. At least he was attentive, and always made sure that she felt good, too. She heard all too often how rare that was.

When he was close, he asked her to bite, and she bit down on his chest, sucking hard on the wound. Oh fuck that felt incredible. He closed his eyes and felt his blood in her body as he came. He wanted to bite so much, but he didn't. Instead, he rubbed his face against her neck, covering himself in her scent and covering her with his. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed feeling himself inside of her. His cock and his blood and the pipeline.

She snuggled into his arms and sighed. He knew she would be asleep soon, even though it was early. She sounded so tired when she said, "I love you, Eric."

He smiled. "I love you, too."

When Sookie fell asleep, he gently pulled his arm out from under her and got dressed. He heard Mrs. Stackhouse moving around inside. He pulled the screen out of Sookie's window, and snuck out. He knew Sookie would kill him if she found out, but he was getting kind of hungry again, and he wanted to try glamouring on purpose. He ran through the woods until he was near the parking lot of the new bar, Merlotte's.

He waited in the shadows for someone he knew to come by alone. How did he know it would be Dawn Green?

Of course, he'd been with Dawn. More than once. Pretty much everyone had. He leaned against a tree and grinned at her. "Hey, Dawn. Come here for a second."

"Well, if it isn't Eric Northman, in the flesh! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes? What are you doing back in Bon Temps?" She tried to sway her hips enticingly, but she stumbled and nearly fell down. She was obviously trashed, even if she was underage.

"Oh, I'm here visiting my girlfriend."

Her eyebrows went up. She was disappointed if he was off the market, but gossip was always a welcome commodity. "Oooh, Eric's got a girlfriend! Who's the lucky girl?"

He smiled. "Sookie, of course."

She laughed. "No fucking way! You're going out with Crazy Sookie Stackhouse? Are your balls just constantly blue, or is it a threesome with you and her and your right hand? Do you need a little help?" She licked her lips and looked at his zipper.

He laughed, too. "Man, none of you people know her at all. Not even a little bit. She's incredible. In bed and out." Two nights before, Sookie had shot the head off a vampire with a shotgun and then fucked him in the graveyard a few feet away from the remains. After drinking his blood. He wondered what Dawn would think about that.

He caught Dawn's eyes and she was his to do with whatever he pleased. He bit her neck and drank from her, making sure to stop after only a few mouthfuls. She tasted pretty good, but nothing like Sookie. He bit his tongue and rubbed it on the wounds, hoping that it would work topically the way it did when Sookie drank it. It did. Thank fuck. He _really_ didn't want Dawn drinking his blood. Just Sookie. Sookie was his. He caught Dawn's eyes again. "You won't remember seeing me. And you'll be nice to Sookie from now on."

She blinked a couple of times and then wandered back toward the bar, not even looking in his direction again. Part of him had wanted to fuck her, and he was sure Dawn would have been game even without the glamour, but he would be completely insane to screw up what he had with Sookie. He wondered why the glamour hadn't worked on her the way it had with Dawn. Thank fuck, though. He'd have felt like shit if he'd pushed her to have sex with him when she didn't want to.

There was a strange smell hanging around the parking lot. It sort of reminded him of eau de dog, but he wasn't sure. It made him nervous, so he headed back to Sookie's. He didn't want to find any trouble when he wasn't looking for any.

Eric ran as fast as he could back through the woods. It felt incredible. He spooked a nutria, and it bolted. He changed direction and chased it through the forest. He reached out and grabbed it like it was standing still. He almost felt like he could fly. He let the poor terrified creature go and started running again.

He hadn't been paying attention, and he nearly impaled himself on a branch when he was almost to the clearing that Sookie's house sat on. In the chest. That brought him up short, and he was much more careful the rest of the way back. His heart would have been pounding if it still beat.

He slipped back in the window and popped the screen back in. Sookie opened her eyes and looked sleepily up at him. "Where did you go? Everything Ok?"

Shit. "Everything is great! I just wanted to stretch my legs. I went for a run. I even caught a nutria with my bare hands!"

She sat up and stretched. "Oh, that's good. I'm sorry I fell asleep on you again. I hate being this tired all the time."

"That's Ok, Sookie. Hell, it's my fault."

"Don't say that, Eric. It's nobody's fault except that other vampire's."

Hell, he didn't blame the other vampire. He'd kind of like to thank him.

Naked Sookie stretching, of course, made him hard again, and he undressed and slid into bed next to her. He started kissing her again, and she was so warm and sweet. He laid her back down and kissed down her neck to her breasts.

"Do you want me to… use my mouth? On you? Kiss you, I mean?"

She was so fucking adorable. He could feel the blush creeping up her chest. He looked up at her and grinned. Dawn was right about how naive she came across, but she knew a lot more about sex probably even than Dawn. She'd been graphically exposed to it all her life. He'd heard her complain about it enough times. She wasn't a prude at all. Hell, she had pretty much seduced him. But she still blushed like crazy sometimes and couldn't even make herself say blow job. God, he loved her.

"Are you sure?"

She bit her lip and nodded. He kissed her hard and rolled onto his back. Fuck, he sure as hell wasn't going to turn down a blow job.

She kissed down his chest and sucked on his nipples. "Bite, a little…" And she used her teeth. Fuck, it felt amazing. Everything was so much more sensitive than it used to be. Sex had become imperative, in part because of how fucking good it felt now. She kept kissing him lower until she got between his legs. She took him in her hand and stroked him. "Tell me what you want me to do."

Nice. Most Bon Temps girls just went for it. And being the only uncut guy in the locker room meant he got a lot of blowjobs that had been perfected on circumcised dicks. Not ideal.

"Retract the foreskin a bit and suck lightly on the head, just a little. Oh, fuck, yeah. Not too hard. It's so fucking sensitive. Yes just like that. Now use your tongue while you stroke the foreskin over the head with your hand. Oh, God, Sookie."

She started exploring on her own, and fuck, just like everything else, she was a natural. And he thought she was reading his feelings, too; when something was too intense, she backed away before he even had to say anything, or even flinch, and when it felt incredible, she really went for it. She was stroking his cock and was sucking lightly on the head with her tongue under his foreskin and he was so fucking close.

"Fuck, Sookie, I'm going to cum."

She took as much of his cock into her mouth as she could when he came. When he was done, she sat up and bit her lip. "Was that Ok?"

"Fuck no. That was incredible."

She snuggled up into his arms and he wished he could just hold her forever. But dawn was creeping up on them. He stroked her hair and kissed her ear. "Thank you, Sookie. For taking care of me. I don't know what the hell I would have done without you."

She smiled sleepily at him. "Thank you, for being so sweet." She kissed his chest.

He kissed her and then climbed back into the darkness of the cubby. He was feeling sappy and sentimental and sort of pushed it all through the pipeline at her. He felt so much love and affection in return. So quietly, he barely heard it through the wood. "Thank you, Eric. I love you, too. Sweet dreams."


	18. July 13, 1995

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could hold onto this for no reason, or I could post it now. :P I think I'll post it now. :) It's a little dark?

Gran had been hovering all day. Sookie knew she looked a little pale and tired, but she was getting as much sleep as she could and taking the iron and B12 supplements. She felt better today, too. When Tara asked her to go to Merlotte's for burgers and pool, she jumped at the chance to get out from under Gran's nose.

She left a note for Eric on her desk that just said **Merlotte's 5:30** , in case Gran saw it. She hoped that she'd be back before he woke up, though. He'd been so weird and possessive lately, but maybe he was always like that with his girlfriends and she didn't know. She had always tried to know as little as possible about his other girlfriends.

Then she swooned a little. She was Eric's girlfriend. _She_ was! He'd even called her his when she bit him last night. And feeling his emotions all the time was really really weird, but whatever he did after he went to bed had made her feel like she was the most important person in the whole world. He wasn't just saying it. He really did love her. If flying all the way from Sweden wasn't proof enough, she had felt it for herself.

She kind of felt like she'd won the lottery. But, at the same time, she was really worried about some of the vampire stuff. It was scary. He was scary sometimes. It was also scary how much she wanted him all the time. She guessed it was a good thing, considering. But she had even dreamed about having sex with him the past few nights. And it was scary how much she liked drinking his blood. But, really, it was kind of the only thing keeping her going.

At Merlotte's, she and Tara sat down in a booth in the corner. It was the first time Sookie had been there. The guy behind the bar was kind of cute, with shaggy reddish-gold hair, and Tara was daydreaming about kissing him. Dammit. Sookie hadn't meant to read Tara's mind, but she was so distracted. She needed to not think about vampires or Gran or anything except having a good time.

Dawn Green came to the booth to take their order. Sookie was not a fan; Dawn could be really mean. Plus she was a clear broadcaster, and thought about her favourite hookups. A lot. And Eric featured prominently in them. She had always thought Dawn was exaggerating. Nope.

"Oh, hey, Sookie! It's so nice to see you! Gosh, it's been months, at least! How've you been doin'?"

Sookie and Tara just looked at each other. What in the world? "I'm doing Ok, Dawn. How 'bout you?"

"Oh, I'm doing great. Just got a job here last week! I figured, I'm here all the time anyway. Why not? What can I get y'all?"

They ordered burgers and Cokes, and Dawn fawned all over Sookie again when she delivered the drinks, and then when she brought the burgers and fries, too.

Finally, Sookie asked, "Dawn? Why are you being so nice to me?"

Dawn had no idea at all. It was just like a blank spot in her brain. It was so weird. But apparently the why didn't matter to Dawn, and she just kept on being sweet as pie.

She realized that Dawn's brain had kind of looked like Lafayette's after the party. Had Eric done that? But Eric couldn't glamour. At least she didn't think so. They really needed to remember to try. But they were always either screwing or she was asleep the whole time they were together.

After they ate, they played a couple of games of pool. Jason, Hoyt, and their friend Rene from the road crew came in. She gave Jason and Hoyt a hug, and then reluctantly gave Rene one when he came up to her after Hoyt with his arms out.

Jason called that he wanted to play the winner, so after a few pointed looks from Tara, Sookie sunk the 8 ball accidentally on purpose. She winked at Tara and went to the bathroom.

When Sookie got out of the stall, Rene was standing in front of the sinks. "Sorry, Rene. This is the ladies'."

"I know. I just wanted to spend a little time with you. That's all."

He was really hard to read. But she absolutely didn't want to touch him to get better reception.

"I'm sorry, but I'm really not interested."

"Come on, Sookie. Just a little kiss. Maybe fool around a little. It's not like you have a boyfriend."

"I do, actually."

Sookie tried to give him a wide berth and leave the bathroom, but when she pulled on the handle, it was locked. He pushed her front against the door, and ground himself into her ass. He whispered in her ear the disgusting things he wanted to do to her, and she could smell a lot of booze on his breath. He started sucking on her neck. She stamped down on his instep as hard as she could, but he was wearing big work boots and she was just wearing sneakers. She elbowed him in the stomach, but she didn't really have enough room to get any real momentum.

"This is a really really bad idea."

"No, baby. I'll be makin' you feel good."

He reached under her shirt and put his hands on her breasts.

"Jason!" She yelled for her brother at the top of her lungs. And, thank goodness, he heard her.

"You stupid bitch." But he pulled away and she unlocked the door and ran out.

Rene claimed that he just went into the wrong bathroom and Sookie freaked out for no reason. It was all a big misunderstanding. Sookie was just crazy. Jason punched him in the face, and Sam kicked both of them out. He asked if Sookie wanted him to call the cops, but she just wanted to get the hell out of there, so they paid for their food and drinks and Tara dropped her off. Sookie insisted she would be fine, and for Tara to go on home.

She was shaking when she got in the house. Gran wasn't home, thank, goodness, and it was still a few minutes before sunset. She balled up the note and threw it in the garbage. She went to the bathroom and got into the shower and sat on the floor with her hands around her knees and cried.

She finally managed to pull herself together by the time the water started to run cold. She got dried off and dressed and went out to face Eric. She was going to have to tell him, and he was going to freak out.

He was standing naked just outside the bathroom door.

"Sookie? What the fuck?"

He was up against her and looking at her neck. Sniffing her. He had his hand around her upper arm so tight it hurt. His voice was low and cold. "I was sucking on the other side, Sookie. And you were unmarked last night. Who in the fuck were you with?" He was so angry he was shaking. He was terrifying. She started to cry again, and told him everything that had happened at Merlotte's.

Eric felt his hold on his control slipping. He inadvertently squeezed her arm even tighter, and she cried out. He knew he needed to leave right then before he hurt her, but he couldn't seem to make himself let her go. He wasn't angry at her any longer at all, but he was so fucking furious that he was close to snapping. On top of that, he was really hungry, and crazy horny, and she smelled so fucking good. He felt like he was on the verge of literally fucking her to death while he drank her dry. "Revoke my invitation."

"Eric!"

"Do it right fucking now, Sookie!"

His fangs snapped down.

"Now!"

"Eric, I revoke your invitation!"

She was sobbing, but the magic recognized what she said and he let her go as he was pushed out the door.

When she pulled herself together a little, she gathered up some clothes and his shoes and set them just outside the door, on the front porch. He stayed off until she went back inside and closed the screen door.

"I'll be back. I'll be fine. Don't worry. You'll be safe. I won't hurt you, Sookie."

He got dressed and ran away.

Sookie managed to get herself back under control again before Gran arrived back home half an hour later. Barely. She quietly invited Eric back in again so he wouldn't have to find somewhere safe to stay for the day, but she felt a little twinge in her belly when she did it. She had never seen him so angry. And he'd looked dangerous. Really really dangerous. She put on a long-sleeved shirt to cover the bruise on her arm and hoped Gran wouldn't ask. It was a hot and sticky night. The hickey was barely there, and she didn't think Gran would notice that at all.

She sat in the living room with Gran and watched TV for an hour before they both headed to bed. She felt so numb, but was able to make conversation well enough that Gran didn't think much about it at all. In fact, Gran seemed to feel a little bit better; Sookie wasn't hiding in her room all night, and her face had some more colour to it. Eric's emotions were such a mess that she tried to just ignore them. And, as he got further away, it became easier.

Eric didn't know Rene, and had no idea where to find him. But he knew Jason and Hoyt. He went to Jason's first, and his truck was in the driveway. He could hear them both talking inside. He knocked on the door.

"Damn, Eric! What the fuck are you doin' here? Does Sookie know you're home? Come on in!"

He wanted to get the information and go, but he needed to make sure neither of them could point the finger at him. He followed Jason into the kitchen, and Jason grabbed him a beer out of the fridge. Part of him kind of wanted to drink it. The rest of him - most of him - wanted to drink Jason. He smelled really fucking good. Not as good as Sookie, but damn. He was fucking starving, and was holding onto his control with his fingernails. He was hard, too, and really did not want to think about that at all.

"Yeah, Sookie knows I'm here. Hey, Hoyt. I hear you guys were at Merlotte's earlier?"

He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. He was obviously pissed. Jason and Hoyt looked at each other. Eric seemed… strange. Hostile. Distant. Kinda fucking scary.

"Yeah. Our buddy Rene from the road crew scared Sookie in the john, so I punched him out. We all got the boot. It sucks! I was hopin' to get laid tonight."

"Where would I find this Rene?"

Hoyt said, "It wasn't that big a deal, Eric. He just grabbed her tits. Jason already punched him."

Eric held Hoyt's eyes. "Where?"

Hoyt told him where Rene lived.

Eric glamoured them both to forget he'd been there.

Rene lived in a trailer on a cleared quarter acre west of town. Thank fuck it wasn't right in downtown Bon Temps. He listened, and there was a TV on inside. He couldn't hear anyone talking. He knocked on the door. A guy a few years older than him opened it.

"What the fuck do you want?"

Eric used his glamour, "You. Is anyone else here?"

"No, the old lady's out."

Eric grabbed him, covered his mouth, and ran for the woods. Nobody had seen him. Rene was struggling for his life, but Eric felt like fucking Superman. Eric found a clearing far from the nearest road and stopped. Rene's heart was beating like a jackhammer, and the sound almost seemed to be needling its way under Eric's skin. So much blood, roaring through Rene's veins. He wanted to bathe in it, paint the forest red with it, but the hunger…

All of his plans to make Rene suffer evaporated. He bit, and he drank and drank and drank. He dug a deep hole and buried the body. He washed himself in a stream. He felt all-fucking-powerful.

He was so relieved when he got back to the house and he was able to enter through Sookie's bedroom window. She was already in bed, with her back to him. He got undressed and slid in behind her. Her whole body tensed.

"It's Ok, Sookie. I'm Ok. I would never hurt you."

She didn't really know what to say. He had already hurt her. Her upper arm was an angry dark purple, and she felt torn apart inside. But she knew it wasn't really his fault. He couldn't help it. He was trying as hard as he could. But that wouldn't really mean too much if he killed her on accident.

"Sookie, I'm sorry, but I need you. So fucking bad. Please."

She sighed and turned around. There were tears in her eyes. Eric was almost pink, and she was so afraid that Rene was dead, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. And she knew Eric couldn't really help that, either. It was what he was now. And he needed to eat. But she would feel so guilty if Rene was dead because of her. She hoped to God that he wouldn't get caught.

But she still loved him. Heck, she thought she maybe even loved him more, now. Because he needed her. She certainly felt responsible for him. If it wasn't for her, he would have been safe backpacking across Europe. And she was the one who had killed his maker. He would have been able to make sure Eric could eat when he needed to, and he would have been able to teach him all the things he needed to learn. And, really, she had only killed his maker because she thought he might do something to hurt Eric. Rene had actually touched her.

He saw the bruise on her arm, and his eyes filled with blood. "Oh, shit, Sookie. Oh, fuck, I'm so sorry."

She sighed, and just held him tight for a while, desperate for any feeling of comfort she could take from him. He stroked her hair and apologized over and over.

Sookie felt so empty and alone, even in his arms. She didn't want to any more. She ran her fingers through his hair and pushed it behind his ear and kissed him.

They made love twice, and she agreed to drink from him to heal the bruise on her arm. And if it healed the hickey, too, all the better. He sent her love through the bond, but tonight it felt so much more bittersweet than it had the night before.

It took her a long time to fall asleep, but she finally did, in his arms.


	19. July 14, 1995

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! I took a few days off writing, but got back on the horse. A brief almost-respite. Kind of like this chapter. :P
> 
> Thanks to ilovemysteries for her super beta work and quick turnaround. :D

The next day, Sookie read every word of the newspaper, and listened to the radio all day long. There was nothing about a murder. Her stomach was a big knotted mess, but she was thankful at every news break that went by without any bad news.

Physically, she was feeling a lot better; he hadn't bitten her the past two nights, and she was almost back to normal. Her colour was good, and she hadn't felt lightheaded all day.

When it was nearly sunset, she went into her room and locked the door and turned the bedroom radio on. She would be able to keep an ear on the news, too, while she was covering up their noise.

She missed him, but her anxiety was ratcheting up, too. She hoped things would settle into a routine soon, but she was afraid that that was never going to happen.

Eric climbed out of the cubby and laid down next to her. She knew he would be hungry and horny, but she wrapped her arms around him and just clung to him for a few minutes, taking as much comfort from him as she could. He happily hugged her back, nuzzling against her. Scenting her.

"What's the matter?"

She closed her eyes. "Nothing, baby. I just love you, that's all."

He could _feel_ that she wasn't really telling him the truth. But his instincts told him to let it go. She held him extra tight for a minute or two, but then pulled away and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Let's go out to the graveyard or something. I'm tired of spending so much time in here."

Her grandmother was out on the porch. Eric got dressed and went out through the kitchen while Sookie went out front and let Gran know she was going for a walk and that she might stop by Merlotte's and not to wait up. She walked down their driveway and then up Jessie Compton's and met him in the cemetery a few minutes later. He was sitting on William Compton's gravestone.

Sookie sat leaned up against her parents' headstone, in her spot. It was strange to be here now. And she felt really uncomfortable knowing that they had had sex basically right on top of her parents a few nights before. She got right back up again and walked over to stand between his knees.

She wanted him. Partly for comfort, but she had been craving his touch all day. Despite everything. She kissed him. He quickly deepened it. Without stopping, he picked her up and carried her to the edge of the graveyard and set her down against the smooth bark of a bluebeech. He kneeled in front of her, pulling her shorts and panties down and kissed her belly, and then between her legs. She widened her stance and threaded her fingers through his hair.

"Sookie, you taste so fucking good." He licked and sucked until her breathing was getting ragged, and he was too hard to stand it any longer. He left her shirt on to protect her back, and pulled off his clothes. He picked her up, leaned her against the tree, and pushed into her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him.

Part of her was scared by how incredibly strong he was now. And, surprisingly, a part of her was excited by it. The danger of it. Even after last night. But she was incredibly turned on. They were kissing, and he was fucking her hard against the tree and she pulled away and looked at him. His mouth was open and his fangs were down and he was looking at her with so much heat in his eyes.

"Bite me, Sookie. And let me bite you. Please." He had a bit of a lisp now, and she kind of thought it was adorable.

She looked in his eyes and then kissed him. And then she bit his neck. He bit hers, and they both came almost immediately. She had to admit, it really did feel absolutely incredible. Addictive. And it almost seemed like they were the only two people in the world for a few moments. He even stopped biting after only three or four mouthfuls.

He was peppering her throat with kisses, and she just leaned against the tree and enjoyed being with him, running her fingers through his hair. She wished they could go on a date. Go do normal things together. But she was so glad that he was alive, at least sort of, and with her. And he really did seem happy.

She wrapped her arms around him. "I love you so much, Eric."

He smiled. "I love you, too. You're mine. Forever."

Her stomach kind of did a flip flop, and she squeezed him even tighter. She felt his love flow through her, too. She just couldn't believe he was really finally hers. Forever. And with a mind that was completely silent to her. It was like a dream come true. Hell, not even like. It was. And it was a little bit easier to ignore the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach.

He set her down and got dressed.

"Hey! Get on my back. I'll take you for a little run." He crouched down and she jumped up and held him tight around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. It wasn't her first rodeo; he'd given her dozens of piggyback rides in the past 9 years. Maybe hundreds.

He started to choke, and then laughed when she jumped right back off. "I'm just kidding, lover. I don't even have to breathe anymore. You can hold me as tight as you want." He was looking forward to feeling her breasts squished against his back. As a matter of fact… He took his shirt off and draped it across Bill Compton's grave and then gave her his back again.

She jumped on after she swatted him and held on tight. She still made a surprised squeak when he took off, and she tightened her grip.

He ran to the swimming hole way back in the woods that they used to hike to sometimes. The run was exhilarating and they were both laughing by the time they got there, in only a few minutes. They both stripped off and spent a couple of hours together splashing and swimming and laughing and talking and just making out.

He carried her over to a patch of moss and laid her down gently. He made love to her so tenderly and he pushed love through the bond the whole time. By the time she came a few minutes later, she was even crying a little. It was just so beautiful. And she knew that she didn't just feel like the most important person in the world, to him she was. She was his.

He carried her bridal style all the way home, taking his time. Even stopping to kiss her now and then. She had fallen asleep by the time they got there. He very quietly carried her through the kitchen and into their bedroom. He could hear that Adele was asleep. He laid Sookie down in bed and tucked her in and then slid out the window.

He didn't want to think about why he ran to Jason's. It was 345 when he left their bedroom. He knocked on Jason's door, and then rang the doorbell. He heard Jason stumbling around inside. The outside light came on, and he heard Jason say, "Eric? What the fuck?" He opened the door. Eric had him caught in his glamour right away.

"Are you alone?"

"Yeah."

Eric bit, and Jason' blood was… fuck. Not as good as Sookie's, but delicious. He took five deep drinks. Six. Reluctantly, he stopped, bit his tongue, and healed the bite. He told Jason he wouldn't remember seeing him and released him from the glamour.

He ran as fast as he could back to the house. His balls ached. He climbed back through the window and was begging her to let him fuck her. Pleading. He almost fucked her through the mattress, cumming twice.

It had been a near perfect night. They had been almost like a real normal couple. She felt so much better. Until the memory of being in the bathroom with Rene, and how angry Eric had been, and how pink he was later that night came floating back up. She pushed it back down and willed it to stay, at least for a little while.


	20. July 15-20, 1995

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! It's a chapter. Gasp! Thanks to ilovemysteries for being the best. :) Oh, and I'll probably post a new SE chapter tomorrow because I can't help myself.

She kept an ear on the radio again all day. The Saturday paper was always light on news, and that day was no exception. There was not one thing about a dead or missing person, thank goodness.

Jason came over in the afternoon. Usually he never got sick, just like her, but he looked so pale and drawn. He was rubbing the side of his neck, complaining about how he must have gotten way more wasted the night before than he'd realized, because he felt shaky and weak and headachey and just drained. Oh, no. She listened in to his brain and found a big old hole where his memory should be. But why in the world would Eric have bitten Jason? Did she really want to know?

After reading Dawn's mind, and after Rene, she had basically dropped the whole issue of whether or not he could glamour. Part of her just didn't want to know. He was biting her, but he wasn't taking too much, and if he was getting blood from somewhere else on his own, then she couldn't really stick her nose in. He did need to eat. She knew she was just sticking her head in the sand, but she already felt so much guilt, and what could she even do about it? And both Dawn and Jason were alive. And now Dawn was even being nice to her. Sookie's stomach clenched into a knot when she wondered if he'd done anything else with Dawn. She decided she would talk to him about it. Eventually.

Gran went to a double feature of Civil War movies in Shreveport with a few of her Descendants of the Glorious Dead friends that night. Sookie and Eric snuggled on the couch and watched an old movie on TV. Eric was more interested in making out than watching, but they had had sex twice before the movie started, and she'd already given him some of her blood while she drank a bit of his, and she really wanted to watch it. He was awfully persistent, though, and what started with a few kisses during the commercial turned into her lying naked on the couch with her fingers in his hair and his head between her thighs. She was so close. He started to purr and she pulled his hair hard as she came.

He slid into her and she moaned into his mouth when he kissed her. He wanted to bite her again, but she was already looking a little pale. He'd bitten her two nights in a row now.

"Say you're mine, Sookie."

"I'm yours, Eric."

"Forever, Sookie. Only mine. Nobody else's."

"Of course, sweetie. Just yours. And you're mine."

When she said that, he growled and came, and he kissed her so hard, biting his tongue and feeding her more of his blood.

They snuggled and he really did watch the rest of the movie, and then he carried her back to their room and tucked her into bed after she fell asleep not twenty minutes into the next one.

He needed more blood. His gut was telling him to stay away from Merlotte's. Which really sucked, because it was nearby and would be busy on a Saturday night at midnight. He didn't really have any better ideas, though, and hung around further back in the woods until he heard someone walking alone. He crept to the edge of the forest and looked. It was fucking DeeAnne. She had written to him a few times, professing her love for him and telling him that she would wait for him. All while she was screwing Jason. He'd replied once or twice, but then just stopped. It was only egging her on. But he really was hungry.

"Hey, DeeAnne."

She spun around. "Eric?"

She ran to him, jumped into his arms, and kissed him. He kissed her back for a minute or two. She had her legs wrapped around his hips, and he grabbed her ass and ground himself into her. It would be so easy to just take her back into the woods and fuck her against a tree as hard as he wanted, drinking as much as he wanted while he did it. Sookie would never need to know.

But what if she could read DeeAnne's mind, even if he did glamour her? What if Sookie left him? He couldn't even glamour her to stay. He pulled his mouth away from DeeAnne's and caught her eyes. He carried her back into the woods and fed. He glamoured her to forget she'd seen him and carried her back to the parking lot. He kept his dick in his pants.

Somehow, over the next few days and nights, Eric and Sookie really did manage to settle into a routine. She spent her days chained to the radio after reading the newspaper cover to cover. It was always on while she cooked or cleaned or gardened, and she always listened to the news. But still nothing.

They spent their evenings together, most often at the swimming hole. Gran was happy that Sookie was getting out of the house more to "hang out with friends". They talked and laughed, played and had a lot of fun together, really getting to know each other again. And, of course, they had a lot of sex. Eric was still essentially insatiable. And the more sex they had, and the more of Eric's blood she drank, the more she wanted him, too. She noticed that her skin was glowing a little bit, and she was scared to death Gran would mention it, but she couldn't really bring herself to stop, either.

After Sookie went to sleep, Eric went hunting. He kept away from Merlotte's, for the most part, and managed to find people in ones and twos in secluded areas around town. He always made sure to glamour them and heal their bites after he fed. He spent some time each night testing his strength and speed and endurance as well.

He almost always woke Sookie again for another round or two of love making before climbing into his cubby for the day. They had to be quiet, and she was always so warm and sleepy and sweet. He looked forward to those times most of all.

They maintained a don't ask, don't tell policy when it came to him feeding, and she stopped bringing up trying to glamour her again. He was almost scared to try; he was afraid he might take advantage if he found that he could glamour her after all.

On Wednesday, Sookie took her radio outside and laid in the sun all afternoon. She had been so stressed out and busy lately, and she just needed a day to recharge. Gran was going to Aunt Linda's the next day and she was busy running errands all afternoon. After, she was going to head straight to The Crawdad Diner to meet a few friends for supper afterwards, and then was heading to Bible Study.

Sookie fell asleep in the chaise and didn't wake up until the sun had already disappeared behind the treeline. She tried to get a shower just before sunset now, just to avoid any confrontation, but the only person she'd seen all day was Gran. She gathered everything up and went inside to wait for him to rise.

She left the bedroom door open to let him know that it was safe to come out, and went into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat. She was just cutting a sandwich in half when Eric was behind her, his nose buried in her neck and his hands untying her bikini top.

"Holy fuck, Sookie. Jesus Christ, you smell incredible."

He was sucking on her neck hard, and she could feel his fangs scraping against her skin. His body felt like it was wound tighter than a spring against hers, practically vibrating with repressed need. She set the knife and sandwich down out of the way, turned around, and hopped up onto the counter. The bikini bottoms untied, too, so she left them on. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

He was naked already, and untied the strings at her hips. He fucked her hard and fast on the counter, and then carried her into the bedroom. He smelled and licked the sunshine from every inch of her skin, and then buried his face in her hair as he made love to her again.

Afterwards, Sookie realized that Eric was crying, and clinging to her.

"Oh, honey! What's the matter?" She held him and stroked his back and his hair. But it took him a long time to calm down, and then he just held her quietly for a while after that before he was able to speak.

"I will never see the sun again."

"Oh, sweetie. Oh, I am so sorry."

And she held him and kissed him and made love to him the way he sometimes did to her, pouring every bit of love and care and affection that she had for him into everything she did. When they were through, he held her and whispered into her hair, "You are my light now, Sookie. You are my sunshine. Forever."

It was the first time that Sookie really thought about the fact that Eric could potentially live forever. And that she absolutely would not. She didn't say anything, but held him a little bit closer.

That night, after Sookie went to sleep, Eric found himself in the woods outside the Merlotte's parking lot again. Danielle was out there alone, and he drank from her just outside the glow from the parking lot floodlights. A dog started to bark, and he quickly healed and glamoured her and ran away. He stopped when he heard yelling.

"You stay the fuck away from my bar, you son of a bitch, or I'll call the Sheriff!"

Eric ran back to the house and climbed in the window. He climbed into bed behind Sookie and clung to her again. Before today, he had loved everything about his new life. But this was a lot more of a mixed bag than he had realized. And it was the first time it really occurred to him that this was his new existence, forever. He wasn't human any longer, and he never would be again. At least Sookie had always said that she didn't want kids.

He woke Sookie up and they had sex again, and he tried not to think about her mortality. He could try to turn her, but what if it didn't work? He wasn't really sure what he needed to do. She would just be dead and he would be alone. He seemed almost desperate in his love making, and then after, he cried again, sobbing quietly into her chest as she rocked him and kissed him and muttered soothingly to him. And cried, too. For him and for her.

Gran left early Thursday morning for Monroe, and wouldn't be back until late Saturday afternoon. It was grey and drizzling outside. Sookie read the paper and listened to the radio, but she was really starting to feel a little bit lighter about Rene. It had been nearly a week, and there had been nothing in the news at all. And with the house to herself for the whole day, she decided to do a whole lot of absolutely nothing.

She took a long bath and ate ice cream for lunch and watched trashy TV and read a romance novel. When the sun started getting low in the sky, she felt nothing but excitement and anticipation. Ok, and horniness. She couldn't wait for Eric to rise, and they could make love from one end of the house to the other for two whole nights!

Five minutes before sunset, Sookie heard a car coming down the driveway. She looked out the window, and her heart dropped into her stomach. It was Sheriff Bud Dearborn.


	21. July 20, 1995

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After an impressive little tantrum, I pulled myself together and wrote a chapter. :D I will upload SE Chapter 6 on Sunday, too, I think. Probably early enough to catch the Southern Hemispherians. :P Or, you know, in the middle of the night because I don't sleep.

Sookie closed the bedroom door and hoped to God it would keep Eric in. It was their signal that Gran was home and he needed to stay put. She desperately wanted to deal with this herself, without any complications. She knew absolutely nothing for sure; the last time she had seen Rene was when he was walking out the door of Merlotte's after Sam had kicked him out. All she had to do was tell Bud the truth.

Before she opened the door, she read Bud's mind, and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Rene and Arlene had been fighting over his drinking and whoring around. She took the car and went to a friend's house. She thought something bad might have happened to Rene, but Bud thought that he had probably just left town. He wasn't from Bon Temps, and he had probably just moved on once things went sour with his woman. He had taken his wallet with him and he didn't really have anything else of value to speak of. And he didn't have any ties to the town besides Arlene and his job on the Road Crew.

Of course, in her gut, this confirmed that Eric had almost certainly killed Rene. But intellectually, she had known that from the beginning. And she _knew_ nothing.

Sookie opened the door and invited Bud in. She led him into the livingroom and offered him a drink and a seat. He sat on the recliner and she went to the kitchen to get him a glass of sweet tea. She took a minute or two to take a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. Bud was clearly just going through the motions; he wasn't suspicious of her at all. But she could feel Eric moving around in the bedroom, and she was so nervous that he would do something stupid. The old Eric wouldn't have, but this Eric was different.

She handed Bud his drink and she sat down on the couch.

"Sookie, I understand that you had a run in with Rene Lenier last week. What can you tell me about it?"

"Well, me and Tara were at Merlotte's shooting some pool. Jason, Hoyt, and Rene came in. I went to the bathroom and Rene followed me in when I was in the stall, and he locked the door. He kissed my neck and touched my chest, but I yelled for Jason and he let me unlock the door and leave. Jason punched him and Sam kicked them both out. Why?"

"He's been reported missing. Have you seen him since?"

"No, Sir. I haven't seen him since he was walking out the door of Merlotte's that night."

She could tell that Bud believed her. And that he had already talked to Jason and Hoyt, who had corroborated her story. Or she'd corroborated theirs. And Bud certainly didn't think Jason would kill someone to defend his sister's honour. Jason just didn't give that much of a shit.

Bud drained his glass, set it down on a coaster on the coffee table, and stood up to go. "Oh, hey Eric. I didn't know you were back in town."

Eric looked huge. He was wearing jeans slung low on his hips and nothing else. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and he was just radiating menace. He looked scary, and so dangerous. She closed her eyes. They had been so close to it just being over.

"Sheriff."

Bud had been good friends with Corbett back in the day, and he had been in the Stackhouse home many times before. That was almost certainly Sookie's room that Eric Northman had just come out of half-naked. Jason wouldn't do anything to Rene besides give him a punch in the nose to avenge his sister's honour, but her boyfriend might. Especially one that looked like this.

"Do you know anything about Rene Lenier?"

Eric walked over to Bud and looked into his eyes. "Rene took off on his own. Maybe to Lafayette. You aren't interested in finding him. Or what's been happening outside Merlotte's. If anyone asks you to look into it, go back the next day and say that you investigated and it was nothing. You will never connect it to me or Sookie. You will not remember seeing me today."

Eric walked into the bathroom and closed the door. She heard the shower turn on. Bud just sort of blinked for a few seconds. Sookie said, "Is there anything else I can do for you, Bud?"

"Uh… No, Sookie. Thank you. I hope you have a nice evening. Give Adele my best."

'I will."

Bud left, and Sookie spent ten minutes standing by the door trying to pull herself together. Eric came out of the bathroom with damp hair, wrapped in a towel. He kissed her on the lips.

"I was hoping you would join me, lover."

She glared at him. "I was hoping you'd be smart and stay put in the bedroom. He didn't need to see you at all! It was over, Eric! He already thought Rene had left town. Everyone thinks you're in Sweden, Eric, and it would be awfully smart for it to stay that way, considering."

"Everyone still thinks I'm in Sweden, and it will remain that way."

"But what if I'm not the only one it doesn't work on? What will you do if you bite someone and then can't make them forget? What if someone makes a pass at me? What if you get too hungry and can't stop? How many more people are you going to kill, Eric?"

She started to cry. He realized that she had known about Rene all along. He felt how much guilt and shame she had inside. It was like a weight she had to carry around on her back everywhere she went. And he was ashamed that he hadn't really noticed it before.

He pulled her to him. She struggled against him for a moment, but he held her loosely without letting her get away. Soon, she was clutching him tightly, sobbing into his chest.

As her crying tailed off, she started kissing his chest, and sucking and then biting his nipples, hard. She just wanted to forget. To escape all of the stress and worry. She felt like she was going crazy with it sometimes lately. And it wasn't like she wasn't used to stress and worry at the best of times. But this was just so much to take.

Bossy Sookie from their first night together was back, and she pulled off his towel and pushed him onto the couch. She undressed, and climbed onto his lap, sliding down onto his hard cock. She put his hands on her breasts and fucked him while sucking hard on his neck. The hickies healed almost as soon as they appeared, dark purple fading quickly to nothing on his pale pale skin.

When she started to cum, she bit his neck hard and drank, pulling him across the finish line with her. And then she clutched him. She likely would have choked him if he still had to breathe, and he just enjoyed the closeness as she gripped him so tight. He tried to send her calm the same way he sent her love sometimes.

When she finally loosened her grip a little, he pulled back and kissed her. A tear ran into the corners of their mouths, and it was like her emotional essence had been condensed into a sweet and salty drop. He felt it, an ache in his chest like the way the beauty in certain images or music or prose sometimes physically moved him. He pulled back and licked the tears from her cheeks. And he hoped that maybe eating some of her pain would ease it somehow.

She told him that she wanted to stay awake with him all night. He drank from her a little, and he was hungry, but he thought he would be Ok. And he couldn't leave her alone and awake to go and feed. He was worried that her guilt would be too much for her to handle and she might hurt herself, or that she would rescind his invitation while he was gone and leave him. He knew she wouldn't turn him in. Couldn't. He even felt it. She loved him with everything she had, and she felt responsible for him. And for what had happened to Rene. She didn't blame him at all. But she wasn't going to be able to keep herself together if he killed again. And again.

He could tell that she wanted to ask him about Merlotte's, but she didn't. And he didn't bring it up. He wished that he hadn't had to glamour Sheriff Dearborn in front of her but, after last night, he felt like he didn't really have a choice. He didn't want the Sheriff to come poking around again when Adele was home. And now he could keep hunting around Merlotte's now and then.

He heated her up a can of tomato soup (mixed with milk instead of water, the way she liked it) and made her a grilled cheese sandwich. She sat on the floor between his knees and ate at the coffee table, leaning back against him as they watched TV together. It was nice, and almost normal, and he felt her relax just a little.

They had spent so much of the past week doing normal couple things, that it made the rest of it, the vampire stuff, just stand out like a sore thumb. As compatible as they were - and they always had been, but their particular idiosyncrasies made them almost perfectly so now - he knew how serious their problems were, and how difficult it was going to be to overcome them.

After she finished eating, she climbed into his lap and they kissed and cuddled while watching a couple of scary movies on TV. They even laughed a little at how cheesy they were. They made love again before Sookie drifted off to sleep, despite herself, just before 2:00.

Eric tucked her in bed, and ran through the woods to Merlotte's. There would be some stragglers at closing time on a Thursday night, he was sure.

He hung back in the woods until the last person was stumbling to her car. Her hair, dyed an unnatural red, was done up in a messy bun, and her make-up was smeared and faded.

He was about to make his move when someone else ran out the back door.

"Arlene, I can't have you driving home like this. You're drunk as a skunk!"

"What difference does it make, Sam? I don't have nothin' to live for now, anyhow."

They continued to argue, but he wasn't going to hang around and listen. That dog smell was stronger than ever, and something was kind of making him feel crazy. He _needed_ to leave. Immediately.

He ran away and found a couple of kids Sookie's age he kind of recognized hanging out at the park. He fed from them and glamoured them, and was back in bed with Sookie before 3:30.

He didn't sense the dog sniffing around outside shortly thereafter. The collie had followed Eric's trail to Merlotte's back to the house. He recognized the scent of the girl he had told Bud about a few days before. And, of course, Vampire.


End file.
